


Beneath the Waves

by katofthenorth



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, biologist!jaina, diver!sylvanas, diverAU, research for days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 11:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 41,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21968557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katofthenorth/pseuds/katofthenorth
Summary: Jaina's attempts to find an experienced diver to help her with her research leads her to meet Sylvanas, an ex-seal diver. But trouble looms in the small island town and Jaina must choose what is most important to her.
Relationships: Jaina Proudmoore/Sylvanas Windrunner
Comments: 443
Kudos: 525





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JE_Talveran](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JE_Talveran/gifts).



> This fic wont have a solid update schedule and new chapters will be posted when ever I happen to finish them until Lonely End of the Rink is finished.

This was it. This was how she died. Cooked alive by the oppressive island heat. Drowned on land by the soupy mess the humid air was. A burial at sea would be nice, at least her body, burned red as a lobster, would get to be cool in the ocean. Her mood wasn’t helped by the fact that her friend who had accompanied her to this godforsaken place seemed to be loving the heat. “I’m so glad that you’re enjoying yourself,” Jaina grumbled irritably as she pushes her sweat-soaked hair out of her face, only for the blonde locks to stick to her ears instead.

Vereesa simply smiled wider in response, “at least try to enjoy yourself, Jaina! We’re on vacation!”

“I’m here on a research trip, you’re the one on vacation,” Jaina corrected. “You’re probably the only person I know who would be crazy enough to vacation in the tropics in the summer. The fact that Rhonin outright refuses to come with us should be evidence enough that you are insane.”

“Jaina, you willingly chose to go to school in California,” Vereesa deadpanned, her ears flicking back in amusement.

“And I go home every summer,” Jaina stressed, sighing in relief as they entered a blissfully cool cantina in the small resort town they had been staying at.

Vereesa chuckled as she lounged back in one of the chairs at their table, “that’s your problem, Jaina. You never let yourself acclimatize.” She called the waiter over to order their lunch, simple yet filling stuffed peppers, her French flowing fluently of her tongue.

“Show off,” Jaina huffed as she began rooting through her bag to pull out one of the travel guides she had collected over the last two days. Scowling, she crossed out yet another diving company. She tossed the book on the table dejectedly, “none of them will work either,” she grumbled.

“What's wrong with this one?” Vereesa asked, pulling the book closer to look it over. “They have outstanding reviews and a great record.”

“Nazjatar Holdings,” Jaina huffed, “if I have to pay someone to help me do my research, I am not going to pay someone owned by a company that goes against it.” She offered the waiter a halfhearted ‘thank you’ when he returned with the lunches.

Vereesa looked up when she registered what Jaina had said, a forkful of pepper halfway to her mouth, “I thought they were funding all of those reef protection programs? And didn’t they have that big ‘save the turtles’ campaign a couple of years back?”

Jaina rolled her eyes, tucking into her own pepper. After a few bites she said, “and what a wonderful PR move that was. It drew attention away from all of the cruise lines they invested in, the issues with all of their hatcheries, the fact that they own at least half of this island,” she counted them all on her fingers as she went on.

“Alright, I get it, big evil corporation,” Vereesa snorted, pulling some of Jainas pepper onto her plate, “and that's why we are eating this bomb ass food in one of their amazing resort towns?”

“Don't remind me,” Jaina groaned, willingly pushing the scraps of her pepper over to Vereesa, “giving them this much money is bad enough without paying for their dive tours.”

“They can't be that bad, Jaina,” Vereesa said through a mouthful of pepper.

Jaina shook her head, “not a single one of them cared about the impact they could be making. None of them had policies to keep clients from touching the reefs or taking anything from them. And they were all just add-ons upon add-ons.” She rested her chin on her hands dejectedly, “and the ones not owned by Nazjatar won't go to where I want to dive. They won't risk taking tourists and novelty divers out to wrecks, say that they are too inexperienced and won't be held responsible.”

“But you're not a tourist,” Vereesa pointed out, “so there shouldn't be a problem.”

“You would think so,” Jaina scoffed, “but they don't care about my certifications or my dive times. At this point, I’m going to have to go to another island entity and start over.”

Vereesa tapped absently at her glass of water in thought. Her ears lowered slowly as she shifted in her seat to look at Jaina from the corner of her eye, “if I told you that I might know a dive captain that could be willing to take you to a wreck, would you take the rest of the day and just relax?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I am more likely to toss you into the ocean,” Jaina ground out. “Are you seriously telling me that I wasted two days having captains waving me away like a bothersome child for nothing! Do you know someone that can take me out? Why didn't you tell me?”

“I might,” Vereesa shrugged. “We have a… complicated relationship and she lives out on the other side of the island in a small village.”

Jaina all but threw herself across the table to gasp at Vereesa's hands, “you have to take me to meet her!”

Looking over the hope that shined in Jaina's eyes, Vereesa sighed. “Alright,” she relented, “I’ll take you to meet her. Ah!” Vereesa held up a finger to stop the oncoming torrent of thanks, “on one condition.”

“Anything.”

“Surfing,” Vereesa said simply. When Jaina looked about to argue, she rose a tufted brow at her, “we have been in the Caribbean for two days and have yet to do anything even remotely connected to the ocean. And before you say anything, no, trying to get someone to take you wreck diving does not count.”

“We don’t even have boards,” Jaina argued lamely.

“Well rent a couple,” Vereesa beamed. She stood, leaving money for their food, and pulled Jaina towards the doors. “Come on, Jaina,” she pleaded, “when was the last time you went surfing?” When Jaina's only answer was to scowl, Vereesa grinned, dragging her along, “that’s what I thought.” Vereesa all but ran back to their hotel, all too excited to spend the rest of the day out on the waves.

Jaina would have been lying if she had said she wasn't excited as well. She had been feeling an old itch, a sort of call to get out on the water. One day of fun to scratch it wouldn't hurt. In the end, Jaina managed to beat Vereesa to their suite, tossing a pillow from the couch at the elf to slow her down before quickly ducking into her bedroom to change.

A simple sporty bikini of deep blue with a pair of comfortable board shorts over the bottoms. She pulled on a tacky tropical shirt on as she returned to the living room to find Vereesa waiting for her dressed in similar attire. She was frowning at her phone, only acknowledging Jaina when her friend hurled a bundled up towel at her. “Everything okay over there?” Jaina asked her, collecting her own towel.

Tucking her phone away quickly, Vereesa nodded, “was just checking out board rentals,” she said, passing Jaina on her way out, “they really make you pay an arm and a leg for them in this town. I'm starting to get on board the Nazjatar hate train.”

“I’ll get them if you buy dinner,” Jaina offered as they made their way down to the beach.

“Deal.”

______

The beach wasn't nearly as busy as it would have been during tourist season and the two friends had no issues acquiring a pair of boards. After waxing them up properly they paddled out into the open water. They waited alone for sizable waves, which were few and far between. Despite this, Jaina found herself relaxing, the stress that had been weighing her down since her arrival on the island slowly lifting.

She was having fun, more fun than she thought she would have. Trailing her fingers through the crystalline water, smiling back towards Vereesa as she paddled Jaina's side. “Thanks, I needed this more than I thought I did,” Jaina said softly, reaching over to help steady Vereesa's board.

Vereesa merely grinned, “I knew you did. You get real mopey when you're out of the water for too long. I swear, if I didn't know any better I would say that you are part fish.”

Jaina pouted and was about to refute her friend's words when her gaze snapped to the horizon. In the near distance, Jaina would see the swell of a rising wave. An excited grin stretched across her face as she laid down and began paddling as fast as she could towards it. “Dibs!” She called over her shoulder, leaving Vereesa far behind her.

As the wave began to properly take form, Jaina positioned her board, angling it towards the distant shore. As the wave rose, to did Jaina. She hopped up onto her board, balancing on it easily. She rode the wave as if it were second nature. She would angle her board sharply to rise up before sharply dropping back down. She could hear Vereesa cheering as the wave crashed down, propelling her back to calmer waters. With a whoop of exhilaration, Jaina laid down on her back stretching out on her board. Laughter bubbled forth from her lips as she allowed herself to drift until she heard Vereesa making her way over to her. Turning her head, she greeted Vereesa with a broad smile, “thank you. I needed this more than I thought I did.” She sat up, then, careful not to rock her board too much and removed her safety strap from her ankle, tossing it over to Vereesa, “watch this for me.”

With that, Jaina rolled off of her board, diving down into the water. Down she swam, opening her eyes against the sting of the water until she settled upon the bottom. She ran her fingers through the sand, enjoying the feeling. Only when her lungs began to ache from lack of air did Jaina kick up from to bottom, breaking through the surface with a gasp.

“Feel better?” Vereesa asked as Jaina hauled herself back onto her board.

“Much better,” Jaina confirmed. She patted her friend's board and pointed towards a fresh wave that was cresting, “that one's yours.” Sitting back, Jaina watched as Vereesa rode the wave all the way back to shore, waving for Jaina to join her. Jaina was surprised when she looked up and saw how low the sun was getting. They had been out on the water for far longer than she had thought and now that she was aware of the hours past, her stomach rumbled angrily. When she got to shore, Jaina quickly wrung out her hair, “I think I’ll take you up on that dinner you owe me now.”

“I would say we should get some fish,” Vereesa said, her ears flicking back, “but that might be cannibalism for you.”

“Ass,” Jaina snorted, shoving Vereesa before hefting her board and jogging along the beach to the rental shack.

Boards returned and hair dried, the pair made their way to a small fish hut at the far end of the beach. With no other customers, they had trouble getting a great place to sit. Jaina settled at their table, watching Vereesa place their order, chatting cheerily with the waitress. Once she had left, Jaina smiled sheepishly, “you really need to teach me french.”

Vereesa rolled her eyes, “I still don’t understand how someone can study French for years and still not know more than a handful of phrases.”

“Hey, I know more than a handful of phrases,” Jaina defended herself lamely, taking a sip of her drink. A mistake as she promptly choked on it when Vereesa spoke again.

“She thinks you’re cute,” Vereesa said simply, flashing her a fanged grin, “I can play mediator for a bit but after you take her out you’re on your own.” She laughed loudly at how flushed Jaina became, “I’m joking. But I saw the way you were looking at her, talk to her.”

“No. No, I am not asking out the first waitress who thinks I’m cute,” Jaina replied, sinking into her seat. She looked at Vereesa beseechingly, “can we please just go to one place without you trying to hook me up with every other attractive person you see?”

“So you agree that she’s attractive,” Vereesa teased, laughing when Jaina's only response was to blush brighter and pout. “Alright, alright I’ve had my fun. Promise.”

Jainas dramatic pout only faded when their food was brought out to them. She offered the waitress a quiet thank you, shooting Vereesa a dirty look before pulling her plate closer to herself. Grilled fish with roasted vegetables. She was about to cut off a bite of the fish when she noticed the size and shape of it. Curious, Jaina cut a small piece off and turned it over, frowning when she saw the colour of the charred skin. “Red snapper,” she muttered distastefully, “they’re —,”

“Overfished,” Vereesa finished for her, sighing in her exasperation. “Jaina you know I love you but you have to realize that you can’t win every little battle.”

“I can try,” Jaina grumbled sullenly. Still, she knew that this really was a battle she had no way of winning. The restaurant was owned by the same company that owned the fishery supplying the snapper. A chain that she couldn’t break, not alone at least. So with measured reluctance, Jaina ate her meal of ill-gotten seafood, trying her best not to appreciate the sweet taste and mild heat from the added spices. It was delicious, and Jaina had to concede that, if nothing else, Nazjatar hires phenomenal chefs.

With the matter of dinner solved, Jaina and Vereesa made the trek back to their hotel. The door had barely been latched before Vereesa flopped down on the couch, seemingly content to fall asleep right there in the living room. With a fond shake of her head, Jaina pulled Vereesa up from the couch and guided her to her room, “at least put some actual clothes on before you pass out.”

Jaina snorted and crossed the living room to follow her own advice. She got changed into her light pajamas and grabbed her tablet, retreating to the balcony after pouring herself a glass of wine. Just because her efforts had been unsuccessful didn’t mean that she couldn’t get any work down.

She opened up her app, reading over her notes, Jaina flipped to her mostly unwritten thesis. She had been struggling for months with no luck. But now, with the opportunity to get some field research done finally on the horizon, Jaina couldn’t have been in higher spirits. As soon as she got to know this captain friend of Vereesa’s —

The captain!

Jaina downed the rest of her wine and rushed back inside, throwing open Vereesa's door. “You never told me how you knew this captain! What’s she like?”

Vereesa groaned loudly from beneath her covers, “can we not talk about this tomorrow?” When Jaina gave no response, Vereesa twisted beneath the sheets until her head popped out at the foot of the bed, her ears drooping in exhaustion. “She is my sister,” she said, “and she is a softhearted ass.”

“Ah, your sister,” Jaina nodded with understanding. She made it as far as the door before Vereesa’s words fully registered and Jaina spun around, a look of shock obvious on her face, “you sister?!”


	2. Chapter 2

Jaina had thought that she could use the two hour jeep ride to the other side of the island for a lot of things. She could have caught up on the sleep she had lost the night before, planning the trip and finding a driver. Or she could have gone through some written research, there were still a few journals and papers she hadn't been able to take notes on yet. Or, radical as the idea was, actually start writing her thesis. But no, all of those plans were dashed the moment their driver removed them from the carefully kept roads owned by the resort town.

The potholes in her hometown were nothing compared to the ones that they constantly drove through, and they only seemed to worsen the further from the town they got. Jaina shifted in her seat to lean forward to speak to their driver. “If I didn't know any better, I would say that the roads are kept like this on purpose,” she nearly had to yell to her heard over the rushing wind of the topless jeep.

The driver, an orcish man with a busted tusk named Sammy, let out a booming laugh. “Well you’d be right there, technically,” Sammy called back to her, “the company made a deal with the local government to dictate which roads get priority to be repaired. Easier to keep the tourist's money flowing into their pockets if it's difficult for them to leave the manicured towns. Though I probably shouldn't be saying that. They got ears everywhere,” he shifted the mirror to look at Jaina and Vereesa’s shocked faces, “that was a joke,” he deadpanned, “mostly.”

Jaina leaned back in her seat with a frown, “mostly?”

Sammy frowned, “I would rather not get into it, Miss. The company isn't the worst thing to happen on this island, but it's far from the best. I got family out where we’re going, and I’ll tell you this, I live a much more affordable and carefree life in the main resort town than they do out on the far coast.”

Jaina leaned over to Vereesa and frowned, “why is your sister living so far out?”

“She never much cared for the city,” Vereesa explained, “even when we were kids but… she started isolating herself a few years ago and she never even talked to Alleria about it. The why of it. She came back to our moms, packed up her life and vanished. We only found out where she had gone a few years ago. She said she was still diving and that's really all I know.”

“She just took off to the islands?” Jaina asked.

Vereesa shrugged, sinking down in her seat, “she had a really rough few years before that, so I can't really blame her.”

Sensing that the conversation wasn't going any further, Jaina shifted in her seat to look out at the flickering landscape. An hour into their ride, Jaina caught sight of what seemed to be a beacon gleaming in the distance. She leaned closer to try and see it better, almost hanging out the window.

A tower, rising up from the islands centre. “Sammy, what that building out there?” Jaina called.

“The Nazjatar Building,” Sammy replied, “the corporate headquarters on the island. Used to be a beautiful spring there, and while I’m sure they didn't destroy it, it is off-limits to the public now.”

Jaina grit her teeth at that, “horrible,” was all she said. No words that Jaina could have said would have mattered to a man who had to live here when she herself could pack up and go whenever she pleased.

There were no more conversations for the remainder of the drive, which suited Jaina just fine. These new revelations of just how under Nazjatar’s thumb the island truly was had soured her mood. It lightened when they finally arrived in the small town. Quaint, that was how Jaina would have described it. No towering apartments or crowded streets. It was refreshing.

Once they stopped, Jaina was quick to jump out of the jeep, stretching out her arms and legs and sighing when her back popped pleasantly. She turned when Vereesa walked to her side, “so, where does she live?”

Vereesa looked sheepishly at the ground, her ears lowering, “I don't exactly know,” she said a touch sadly, “I only know that she lives somewhere in the town. Any letters she sent us were always sent from the local post so…”

“So we have to search,” Jaina sighed. She turned to Sammy who was in the process of removing his hair from the protective bun he had tied it in, “how long are you willing to let us stay, Sammy?”

Sammy thought it over for a long moment before shrugging, “I'll be helping my uncle, he's got a little farm on the edge of town so, whenever you ladies are ready to leave, you just come find me.” With that, Sammy turned and made his way down a small street.

“Maybe we should split up?” Vereesa suggested, “it’ll double our chances of tracking her down.”

Jaina nodded, “meet back at the jeep in an hour?”

“Deal,” Vereesa nodded quickly before taking off, eager to reunite with her sister.

Jaina watched her go and sighed and began her search. “Excuse me,” she flagged down a man she saw walking across the street. “I’m looking for someone, an elven woman.” When the man simply stared at her in confusion, Jaina frowned, “English?” she asked. The man shook his head and carried on his way. She groaned and carried on down the street. She tried asking a few more people but no one was able to help her.

She was starting to lose hope when she got an idea. “Windrunner?” she asked an elderly woman sitting outside a shop. The woman seemed to light up at the name and pointed excitedly towards the edge of town. “Thank you! Thank you so much!” Jaina jogged down the street. The few buildings fell away until she was on a long winding road. She followed it, a slight tinge of fear pricked in her as she realized just how alone she really was. Finally, after a lengthy trek down the deserted road, Jaina came upon a lovely little house built on a cliff. It was painted a soft blue with a cluster of solar panels on its roof and a little windmill next to it. It was charming.

Around the side of the house was a well built wooden staircase leading down to a dock. A soft gasp fell from her lips when she saw the boat tied up at the dock. Before she could stop herself, Jaina had rushed down the steps to get a closer look at it. It was a beautiful boat, old certainly, but someone had taken great pains to get it into the shape it now was. Not a dent or scratch on it. It had been a fishing boat, once upon a time, that much she could tell. Her dad had a boat like this when she was a kid. She reached out to run her fingers along the side when an angry voice cut through the calm.

“Get away from there!”

Jaina jumped in fright spinning around to see who had spoken and froze. Standing at the end of the dock, one hand holding a mesh bag, the other wielding a fishing spear, was an elven woman. Her silvery blonde hair was pulled up in a soaking wet bun, allowing Jaina to see the various knicks and gauges in her long ears, and she wore a pair of board shorts and a sleeveless swim shirt. On her shoulder was a tattoo of an octopus, it's tentacles coiling down around her arm. And her eyes, a steely blue with the depth of the ocean held within them. Jaina must have been staring as the elf bared her fangs, brandishing her spear threateningly, “are you deaf? I said get away from there!”

Jaina raised her hands in a pacifying gesture as she took carefully measured step away from the boat. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice was tinged with fear. Jaina cleared her throat to steady her voice, “I was just admiring your boat. She’s beautiful.” The elf didn't move, “does she have a name?”

That seemed to get through and the elf slowly lowered the spear. “ _ Banshee _ ,” she said simply turning to walk back up the stairs.

Jaina hurried after her. “I’m actually looking for someone,” she said as she trailed after the elf who seemed intent on pretending that Jaina wasn't there. She followed the elf to a small garage-like structure, watching as she dumped the bag out into a large cooler. “Lionfish,” Jaina tilted her head, “did you spear all of these?”

“Locals pay well for each one I bring them,” the elf grunted, “they’re--,”

“Invasive,” Jaina finished for her, “that is very impressive.” Taking what would most likely be her only chance, Jaina took a breath, “I’m looking for Sylvanas Windrunner, and I’m assuming that is you.”

The elf, Sylvanas, froze while in the process of taking apart her spear. “I might be. What do you want?”

“My name is Jaina Proudmoore and—,”

“I didn’t ask for your name,” Sylvanas interrupted sharply, “what do you  _ want _ .”

Jaina huffed at the rudeness, crossing her arms, “I  _ want _ to hire you to take me diving. I was told you were quite good at it.”

Sylvanas looked Jaina up and down for a moment before turning back to her task, “I don’t deal with tourists.”

“Well,” Jaina forced a smile as she moved back into Sylvanas’ line of sight, “it’s a good thing I’m not a tourist! I’m a student, and I could really use your help for—,”

“Even worse,” Sylvanas grumbled. She sealed the cooler and picked it up, pushing past Jaina as she went. “I am not in the business of catering to people looking for a thrill and I don’t deal with people who have never dived before,” Sylvanas called over her shoulder, “go and make a deal with one of the Nazjatar lackies.”

“I will not,” Jaina sped up, cutting Sylvanas off so that she stood in front of her, “do not interrupt me again. I am looking for someone to take me wreck diving so that I can gather the necessary data for my thesis. The reefs are dying, and if we want to be able to keep feeding off of the ocean, we need to find a way to replace them. Wrecks can do that! I just need you to take me to study the ecosystems they are providing. Please, if you cared, even a little, you would help me.”

Sylvanas considered Jaina and her impassioned words for a long moment. Finally, she asked, “are you done?” She punctuated the question with a quirk of one of her long eyebrows, her ears twitching in what could have been amusement.

Jaina took a deep breath and nodded, “yes.” She didn’t think it would be this easy! Sylvanas was sure to help after hearing her out, all Jaina had to do now was smile and say thank —

“Good,” Sylvanas’ scowl was back, “get off my property.” She pushed past Jaina, hefting the cooler up onto her shoulder with a grimace. Sylvanas walked faster, opening the door to her house and promptly slamming it in Jaina's face to keep her outside.

Jaina stared at the door in shock. Had she really just—? She clenched her fists, squaring her shoulders, “you are by far the rudest woman I have ever met! God, Vereesa said that you were an ass, but this is just unreasonable!” She shouted at the door.

She wasn’t expecting a response, so when the door was ripped back open Jaina stumbled back in surprise. “What did you say?” Sylvanas hissed.

Jaina instinctively took a step back when the shorter woman crowded into her personal space. Still, she tilted her chin up with a huff. Jaina was not one to back down, even from the sister of a dear friend, no matter how intimidating she seemed, “I said, you are the rudest woman I have ever met. Barely ten minutes and you have already convinced me that you are an insufferable bi—,”

“Not that,” Sylvanas waved off what should have been insulting. “About my sister,” her ears flicked back, “how do you know Vereesa?”

Whether Sylvanas was being defensive or protective, Jaina couldn’t tell, but she relaxed nonetheless. “Vereesa is a very good friend of mine,” she explained, “she’s actually the one who told me to come and ask for your help. I’m surprised she hasn’t made her way here already, she definitely has the better sense of direction of the two of us.”

Sylvanas seemed to deflate, “Vereesa is here? On the island?”

Jaina didn’t get a chance to reply as an excited scream shattered the air as Vereesa came upon the house. She jumped excitedly before sprinting towards the door, “Sylvanas!” She practically flew into her stunned sister's arms, clinging to her tightly, “I’ve missed you so much!”

Slowly, almost nervously, Sylvanas returned the hug, “I’ve missed you too.” She carefully disentangled herself from her sister, stepping back to place herself safely back in her doorway, “what are you doing here?”

Vereesa bounced nervously on the balls of her feet, “I’m on vacation,” she said, looking over at Jaina sheepishly, “and I may have taken advantage of my friend's research trip and steered her here so that I could try and see you.” The admission was quiet, almost ashamed, but Jaina couldn’t fault her she would have done the same thing. Vereesa smiled brightly, “I thought that maybe you could help her and then I could have the chance to spend time with both of you!”

Sylvanas looked between the two hopeful faces staring back at her, her brow furrowing deeply. Her arms twitched as if she was struggling not to reach for Vereesa once more. At length, she sighed heavily through her nose and took one step back into her house, “I’m not good company, and I don’t do tours.” With that, the door was closed once more.

Vereesa wilted at the action. A heartbroken whine caught in her throat as Jaina took hold of her shoulders and steered her away from the house and back towards the town. It was getting late so they made their way back to the jeep to wait for Sammy.

“I’m sorry, Vereesa,” Jaina said quietly, leaning back against the jeep.

Vereesa's gaze snapped over to Jaina, “what do you have to be sorry about?”

“If you hadn't suggested it, you could have just gone and spent time with her,” Jaina shrugged, “you have to miss her terribly, she’s your sister. I know I miss Derek.”

Uncomfortable with her friends suddenly dourer mood, Vereesa gave her a playful shove, “I told you, she’s an ass. I’ll give her some time to cool off and come back after you leave.” She tilted her head at Jaina's look of confusion, “what? You said you’d have to go to another island if you couldn’t find someone to take you diving. I assumed you’d be heading out.”

Jaina looked down, scuffing the ground with her toe, “yeah, I suppose I’ll have to.” Jaina heaved a sigh as she pushed herself off the jeep, “we should probably get some lunch while we wait, gunna be a long drive back.”

As they started to make for the small market they had seen during their search, a commotion drew their attention to the main road. Coming down the road on an old beat-up motorcycle, was Sylvanas. She stopped next to a stall in the market and unloaded the cooler of lionfish from the back of the bike, exchanging friendly banter with the fish merchant. When her transaction was finished, she turned and stalked over to Jaina and Vereesa. She pulled Vereesa into a tight hug, managing to look only slightly uncomfortable by the action, “I’m sorry, Moon,” she mumbled as she stepped back, “I missed you.” When she turned her attention to Jaina, all of her sweetness vanished. Her ears twitched back, “you will be on my dock early tomorrow morning. Early. I will take you on one test dive, if I don’t think you are capable of further dives, then you are done. No questions asked. Understood?”

Jaina could only nod, dumbfounded and shocked by this sudden change of heart. “I mean, yes! Of course!” She said in a rush when Sylvanas began to scowl, “understood.”

Sylvanas nodded stiffly, reaching over to give Vereesa's arm a squeeze, “you’ll come as well?”

Vereesa smiled and nodded excitedly, “the chance to spend time with you? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Good,” Sylvanas nodded again, “that’s good.” Her ears flicked back for a moment before she turned without another word and returned to her bike.

Jaina watched her leave, her jaw slightly slack. She turned to Vereesa, leaning down to speak into her ear, “are you sure that your sister is a certified diver? She seems a little…” she made a screw motion with her hand.

Vereesa jabbed a finger into Jainas's side, “don’t be rude! She agreed, didn’t she? Trust me, she is a certified diver, more dive time than your entire class combined, I’d wager.”

“I hope you’re right.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Thank you again, Sammy,” Jaina said with a tired smile. The sun was barely up by the time the trio drove into town. The rays of the dawn sun sparkled in the drops of the early rain, casting the sleepy little town in a soft glow. It would have been beautiful if Jaina had been more awake to enjoy the sight. But at least she was awake. As soon as Sammy had arrived at the hotel to pick them up Vereesa had claimed the entire backseat for herself and had rather promptly gone back to sleep.

“Don’t mention it,” Sammy said, trying to bite back a yawn. “What else am I gonna do with my vacation time? Laze around like a beached whale?” He chuckled, “nah, like I said, this is a good excuse to see my family over here, and the pair of you are good company.” As if in protest to his compliment, Vereesa let out a snore that was far too loud to have come from such a small elf. He snorted out a laugh, “funny little thing, ain’t she?”

“Mhm,” Jaina agreed with a small laugh of her own, “she really is. This turn up here, Sammy.”

Sammy glanced at Jaina, “you’re sure?”

“I should hope I am,” Jaina snorted, “I had to walk all the way down this road yesterday.” The road didn't seem nearly as long in a car as opposed to walking down it. When they pulled up to the house all the windows were dark. She frowned as she got out of the car, crossing her arm. “The nerve of her,” Jaina huffed, “asking us to be here at the crack of dawn, and then not even be here herself!” She leaned back into the jeep and gently shook Vereesa awake, “Where would your sister have gone this early?”

Vereesa sat up, her ears drooped lazily from residual sleep. “What do you mean? She should be here. She said she would be.” She struggled out of the jeep, nearly falling out before Sammy steadied her.

At that moment the barking of a dog broke the silence of the morning. Three sets of snapped towards the source. A large shaggy grey dog came bounding out of the thicket towards them. Jaina tensed as the dog slid to a halt in front of her.

“Sharlindra!” Sylvanas snapped as she came jogging out after the dog. “Down! Here!” She snapped her fingers, pointing to her side. Her shoulders relaxed after the dog, Sharlindra, was sitting comfortably by her side. Sylvanas looked past Jaina and Vereesa to Sammy, nodding to him in greeting, “Samgo’garn,” she greeted, “I haven’t been able to go by and see your uncle lately, how is he?”

“I’ve told you before that you can just call me Sammy,” he told her, “and my uncle is doing well. I was going back to help him after I finished dropping these two off. Didn’t think you the type to allow guests.”

“Usually,” Sylvanas agreed, “thank you for bringing them out here. Give my regards to your uncle?”

“Of course,” Sammy nodded, turning to Jaina, “call me when you need a lift back?”

“Oh,” Jaina held up a hand to refuse him, “I don’t know when we’ll be back. Don’t feel obligated to wait for us.”

“Nonsense,” Sammy said getting back into his jeep, “how else are you getting back?” He didn’t give either woman a chance to reply before he drove off.

Vereesa shifted her feet awkwardly. “I didn't know you had a dog,” she finally said.

“I don't. Sharlindra just lives in town,” Sylvanas said simply, “seems to like me so she follows me around.” Sylvanas looked between the two like she was studying them. “Have you ate yet?” she asked.

“No,” Jaina answered coolly, “we didn't have time to eat and get here as early as you demanded we be here.” She was angry, and she didn't care if Sylvanas knew, “where were you?”

“Morning run,” Sylvanas said, clicking her tongue to get Sharlindra to follow her as she walked back to her house. By the time Jaina and Vereesa caught up with her, Sylvanas was already preparing a light breakfast for the three of them, passing small scraps down to the dog. Her ears flicked back when she heard them walk into the kitchen, “take a seat. Breakfast will be ready in a moment, and then we can head out.”

It was a simple breakfast. Fresh fruit, sausage, and some toast. Light, yet very filling. “Do you have any coffee?” Jaina asked.

Sylvanas only spared her a glance before pushing the pitcher of water closer to her. “You don’t want an accelerated heart rate if you are going to be diving,” she stated.

“I don’t need to be dealing with a caffeine headache either,” Jaina grumbled but she didn’t press the matter. She knew that Sylvanas was right and that only made it worse. By the time they were finished, the sun had finally climbed above the horizon and Jaina was anxious to get out on the water.

Apparently, Sylvanas was too as she dumped their dishes in the sink and went to her room. Not long after she returned dressed in a sleeveless wetsuit. Sylvanas walked briskly past the two, holding the front door open expectantly. “Well?” Her ears twitched, “let's go.” She didn’t bother to wait for them, quickly making her way down to the dock. She paced the deck of the  _ Banshee  _ doing her checks. Gear secured, fuel full, anchor secured and undamaged. She was double-checking all of her instruments when Jaina and Vereesa climbed aboard. “Ready?” She asked as she untied the rope that secured the  _ Banshee  _ to the dock. Sylvanas waited for Jaina to stow her pack safely below deck before starting the engines and pulling away.

It was a perfect day for diving. Not a cloud in the sky and minimal wind. Sylvanas didn’t speak to either of them she steered her boat further from the island and out into open water, though she didn’t send Vereesa away, who had taken to excitedly telling Sylvanas everything that had been going on in her life since she had left.

That left Jaina alone with her thoughts. It had been a long time since she had had the joy of actually going out to sea, even if they weren't really that far out. The only dives she had been on with her classmates had been rather close to shore. She closed her eyes and relaxed in the small seat she had taken. If she concentrated hard enough, Jaina could almost forget about the forgot out the sound of the engine. She focused on the sound of the wake the boat made as she inhaled a deep breath of sea air. It had been even longer since Jaina had been able to smell the salt on the air without it being tainted by the many overpowering smells of society.

Jaina jumped at the feeling of someone touching her arm. Her eyes snapped open to see Vereesa smiling at her apologetically. “Didn't mean to startle you,” she said, standing back up, “Sylvanas wanted me to tell you that we’ve arrived. You can get ready below deck.”

“She is like,” Jaina turned to glare at Sylvanas, “five feet away from me. Why wouldn't she tell me herself?”

“Because I am making sure that we are in the optimal position for your dive. wouldn't want to anchor yourselves over the wreck now would we?” Sylvanas snapped over her shoulder as she killed the engine. She walked past them briskly to drop the anchors. “Well?” Sylvanas rounded on Jaina, “get moving.”

Glaring at Sylvanas a moment longer, Jaina retrieved her pack and made her way below deck. For Jaina, getting ready for a dive was a methodical process. Changing first into her bathing suit, she then pulled on a compression shirt before carefully putting on her wetsuit. Odd as it may have been to others, but the wetsuit was one of Jaina's prized possessions. It had been a gift to her from her father when she had been accepted to Caltech. It was one of the few things she had been able to take with her that reminded her of home. Of surfing in the North Atlantic with her brother and days out fishing with her father. Jaina made a mental note to call her parents when she got back to the hotel before returning her attention to her pack. She took out her waterproof flashlight and her camera and made her way back to the deck.

“What do you mean you aren't going down with us?” Jaina froze at the top of the steps as Sylvanas snapped at her sister.

Vereesa simply shrugged as she helped Sylvanas secure two guidelines to the back of the  _ Banshee _ . “You know I’ve never been big on diving, so me going down to a wreck? That's just not safe for any of us. I'm more than happy to help keep you safe while you two are down there, and maybe next time I’ll try, maybe a less intense wreck. Something mostly open.”

“What kind of wreck are we diving?” Jaina asked as she walked over to where Sylvanas had set out of equipment, beginning a thorough check of everything.

Sylvanas joined her, checking over her own gear. “An old salvage ship. Not overly old, but it should have been down there long enough for whatever ecosystems you are looking to find to start developing. But before we get anywhere near the water, we need to go over the safety rules.”

“I’ve dived before,” Jaina said indignantly, “I’ve dived more times than I can count in oceans and lakes.”

Sylvanas offered her a condescending smile, “wreck diving is far different than just going down to look at the pretty fish.”

Jaina clenched her fists at her sides, “I’ve been wreck diving before.”

“Oh? Have you now?” Sylvanas tilted her head, her ears canting back, “where? Off the coast of Florida? Up in New York?”

“Lake Superior,” Jaina stated.

Sylvanas said nothing for a moment before she threw her head back and laughed, “A lake! You think that looking at a little fishing boat in a lake is the same thing as this?”

“The  _ Kamloops _ ,” Jaina corrected ignoring Vereesa who was desperately mouthing for her to just leave it, “a freighter. And I will have you know that that lake is far colder and far more savage than this idyllic patch of ocean that you have brought us to on any given day.”

Sylvanas was silent as she regarded Jaina, her eyes searching her coldly. Beside her, Vereesa looked like she had sucked on a whole bag of lemons. At length, Sylvanas huffed, “just get your gear on, Little Acara.”

“Little-- Little Acara?” Jaina spluttered, “did you really just refer to me as a fish? You--,” her tirade was cut short by Vereesa grabbing her by the arm.

“Just let it go, Jaina,” Vereesa hissed quietly, “I told you. She is an--,”

“Ass,” Jaina said, loud enough that Sylvanas’ ears flicked back towards her. She took a calming breath and smiled at Vereesa, “thank you.” Calmer now, Jaina gave her gear one final check of her borrowed equipment before she began to meticulously pull on each piece. She tightened the straps of her buoyancy control device after making sure that the air tank was safely secured to the back. It was a comforting weight on her back. She attached her flashlight to the shoulder strap and gave the respirator a quick test before joining Sylvanas to collect her fins and mask. She paused in the putting on of her fins when Sylvanas handed her a watch.

“You didn't bring a dive watch,” her tone was scolding, “someone who claims to have dived plenty before should know that that is dangerous.”

Jaina flushed, feeling foolish now as she put on the watch, syncing it up with the one that Sylvanas wore, “I didn't have time to find it in my luggage. You kind of rushed us.”

“Excuses,” Sylvanas shook her head, hooking the guideline to the back of Jainas BCD, tugging it to make sure it was secure. Something in Sylvanas seemed to shift then, all of the snark, the general disregard she had held for Jaina seemed to melt away, “these tanks are small, as this is just a trial. I can guarantee you thirty minutes in the wreck itself before we will have to resurface. If I deem you capable, we may go back down after changing out the tanks. Do you know basic hand signals?”

“Yes. My father taught me when I was a kid,” Jaina replied, unconsciously matching Sylvanas’ rather rigid posture.

“Good,” Sylvanas casual tucked a small knife into the sheath on her arm, “I’ve been down here a few times, so follow my instructions and I will make sure you get back out.” She turned then to Vereesa, “The  _ Banshee  _ isn’t equipped with the tech needed for you to communicate with us so you will be on your own up here,” her ears flicked back apologetically, “keep an eye on our entry point and if anything goes wrong up here tug the guideline twice and we’ll come back up.”

Vereesa nodded her understanding, “you can count on me.”

With the safety protocols settled, Sylvanas and Jaina approached the side of the boat. Jaina watched as Sylvanas climbed nimbly over the side and dropped down into the water. Once Sylvanas had resurfaced and gave her the all-clear, Jaina pulled on her mask, put her respirator in her mouth and followed her, though not with nearly the same amount of grace. She took a few test breaths, checking the hose for holes before offering Sylvanas a thumbs up. When the elf began to dive, Jaina followed. Had they been on land, Jaina would have gasped at the sight of the boat. She fumbled with her camera, turning it on before glancing back at Sylvanas to get the go-ahead. When she received it Jaina swam ahead, trying to stay slow so as to not startle the fish too much.

The  _ Steamwheedle _ , the ship's name could just barely be read under all of the algae and young coral growing on the side of the ship, was exactly what Jaina had been hoping for. As Sylvanas had said, it had not been on the ocean floor for too long, but long apparently enough for numerous sea creatures to begin calling it home. She could count at least twelve different species of fish darting in and out of the ship and through the gaps in the coral. And the coral! So bright and lively, showing no signs of bleaching.

After swimming around the ship a few times, Jaina swam across the deck towards the portal that led into the ship proper. Turning to Sylvanas, Jaina asked if it was safe to go inside. Sylvanas pointed out Jaina's guideline and swam to her side and carefully removed it, going so far as turning on Jainas light for her. She tapped her diving watch, holding up her hand and turning it twice. Fifteen minutes to go in, look around, and then find her way back out. It was more than reasonable, they had to account for the possibility of Jaina getting lost within the bowels of the ship.

The inside of the ship wasn't as thriving as the hull, most likely due to a lack of sunlight, Jaina mused. But that didn't mean it was totally devoid of life. Small crabs scurried below her, shying away from her flashlight and a few fish drifted past her, uncaring of her presence. She recorded as much as could, keeping a close eye on her watch. She was almost at the lowest level when she reached half of her time.

Glancing longingly at the ladder that would take her deeper, Jaina reluctantly turned around and began to swim back. She paused on her way back, swimming down closer to the floor when she noticed a small crack in the wall. Nothing could have prepared her for the octopus that shot out of the crack when she signed her light in it. She swam back quickly to get out of its way as it swam quickly back the direction Jaina had come from. Jaina didn't know how long she floated there, waiting for her heart to stop racing from the fright, but apparently, it had been too long for Sylvanas as she came swimming towards Jaina.

She gave Jaina a once over, checking her for injury. Jaina shook her head, pointing to Sylvanas’ tattoo and then down the hall. The two left the ship then, carefully ascending back to the surface. Vereesa was waiting for them at the side of the boat, tossing a rope ladder down for them to climb up. “Well?” Vereesa asked as she helped Jaina out of her gear after Sylvanas had waved her off, “was it what you were looking for?”

“Oh, Vereesa it was everything!” Jaina couldn't even begin to reign in the excitement of her voice, “I’ll show you the videos later.”

“Or,” Sylvanas cut in, still in her gear as she changed out her tank, “you could take the second dive with me.”

Vereesa’s ears flicked back, “oh, oh no I told you I’m still not big on diving.”

“But you did say that you wanted to spend time with your sister,” Jaina grinned, herding Vereesa towards the stairs so that she could get changed as well, “and you can’t very well do that if she is spending the whole day underwater with me. Can you?” With one final push, Vereesa gave up and went below deck to get ready. Jaina returned her Sylvanas, drying off her hair, “you didn't seem to have any snide comments about spending the whole day diving with me,” she tilted her head, crossing her arms while a self-satisfied smirk curled her lips, “did I manage to prove myself?”

Sylvanas spared her a glance before returning to her task. “You proved yourself capable enough that I don't think you’ll get yourself killed. You can take that how you will.”

“If it means you’ll continue to take me diving than I will take it as a compliment,” Jaina responded. “Thank you,” she said, softer.

“For what?” Sylvanas asked, genuine confusion on her face.

“For taking a chance on taking me down there,” Jaina said, moving to help Vereesa gear up.

_____________________________________________________________________

It was very late by the time Jaina and Vereesa returned to their hotel. Vereesa, exhausted from her simple dives with both Sylvanas and Jaina, had promptly thrown herself onto her bed and fallen asleep. Jaina, despite her own exhaustion, made her way out to the balcony. She had long since finished making her notes from the first video and had even started formally writing out the information she had discovered.

She toyed with her phone before scrolling through her contacts before landing on her father's. She held the phone to her ear, tucking her feet under herself as she waited. Finally, he answered and Jaina had to smile at his sleepily grumbled greeting. “Hey, Dad. Sorry for calling so late, I know you probably have to be up early tomorrow.”

“Jaina!” Daelin greeted, all traces of sleep leaving his voice, and Jaina could hear the smile he clearly wore, “no need to say sorry. You know you can call me anytime. But I have to ask, what's got you calling me so late, Starlight?”

Jaina shrugged, snuggling more comfortably in the chair, “I finally got to dive today and I was thinking of you. I miss you, Dad.”

“We miss you too,” Daelin said, “but what you're doing down there is important to you. Don't lose heart. And remember, I am so proud of you, Starlight. Me and your mother both.”

“Thanks,” Jaina smiled, “I think I needed that.” She yawned loudly, drawing a chuckle from her father.

“Sounds like what you need is to go to bed,” he chided. “Get some rest. Call me anytime you need me. I love you, Starlight, as long as they shine.”

“Love you too, Dad.” Jaina couldn't be bothered to go back inside to get in bed and simply wrapped herself in the thin blanket she had brought out with her. That night, Jaina dreamt of octopus and sun-dappled waters.


	4. Chapter 4

After three consecutive days of diving, Sylvanas had informed Jaina that it was time for her to take a break. As much as she wanted to protest, Jaina knew that she was right. She had more than enough data to get a good start on her thesis. Every wreck they had gone to had been teeming with life. They were everything she had hoped for.

She spent the majority of her first day of break combing through her videos, making as many notes as she could. But she could only stare at her screen for so long, cooped up alone in her hotel room before she began to go stir crazy. Her first thought was to drag Vereesa out to do something, but her friend was still in the town with Sylvanas, wanting to spend some quality time with her sister on land. Jaina couldn't fault her for that, but it left her feeling bereft of anything to do. Everything that could be done in the resort town would only feed into the corporate pockets, and most of it was set up for pairs and groups.

That was what had her closing her laptop and making her way out into the town. Routine had her walking to Sammys. He lived a near twenty-minute walk from the hotel and Jaina was sweating by the time she arrived. She found him in his garage, doing repair work on a small engine from his uncle's farm. “Hey,” Jaina called.

Sammy turned and offered her a surprised smile, “Afternoon, Jaina. I wasn't expecting to be seeing you today. Did you need something?” He watched Jaina for a moment before turning back to the engine, “I was just finishing up here and then I was going to return it to my uncle if you wanted to tag along,” he offered, “must be lonely over here with your friend back in town.”

“Oh!” Jaina flushed, “that isn't necessary. We’ll be going back tomorrow and you don't have to go out of your way for me.”

Sammy laughed, “nonsense, it's no trouble at all. Anything for my best client. Besides, my uncle was wanting this back and I’ll save you the trip in the morning if you just stay in town overnight” Sammy carefully loaded the engine into the back of his jeep, starting it, “come on. We’ll stop by your hotel so you can get a bag together.”

He didn't offer much room for argument so Jaina climbed in, glad for the company. After getting her bag, Jaina and Sammy began the long trip back to town. He sang along to the latest pop hits the whole drive, urging Jaina to join him until she reluctantly did. Sammy barked out a laugh as he pulled off the main road towards a rather ramshackle farm. Chickens scattered to get off of the driveway. “You have a lovely voice,” Sammy complimented as he hopped out, “almost negates my terrible croaking.”

“It wasn't that bad,” Jaina teased, jumping back to dodge a goat as it charged past her. She turned to watch it go, “your uncle's farm is rather open.”

“He doesn't like the idea of cages,” Sammy said, hefting the engine onto his shoulder, “his dogs keep the animals in check.”

“Back so soon, Samgo?” an older orc called from the farmhouse. He limped over to the two, smoothing back his greying hair, “and you’ve finally brought a girl back to meet the family!”

Sammy offered Jaina an apologetic smile before looking back to his uncle, “I finished fixing that engine for you, and no, uncle, I didn't.”

His uncle frowned gesturing to Jaina, “but you have. There is a girl standing on my lawn, and you brought her here, so.”

Jaina laughed lightly at that, “he does have a point.” She stepped past the thoroughly embarrassed orc to shake his uncle's hand, “Jaina. Sammy has been driving me and my friend back and forth from the city.”

“I like this one,” the orc chuckled, shaking Jaina's hand firmly, “Komu. I must thank you for giving my nephew a reason to come and visit.” He placed a hand on Jaina's shoulder, gently moving her so that Sammy could pass them to get to the garage to begin installing the engine. He guided her over, “but you've caused quite the stir.”

“I have?”

“Oh, you have,” Komu chuckled, “used to be we only saw Windrunner a few times a month when she did her deliveries. Since you started coming she's been in the market every day.”

“You know her?” Jaina asked.

“Oh yes,” Komu nodded, sitting heavily in a lawn chair next to the small vehicle Sammy was working on. “She really helped pull this town up. Before she came, I was one of the last people refusing the big Nazjatar buy out. But then,” he laughed, “then this little elf appeared in a beat-up boat and bought up all the land they were planning on turning into a fishery! Gave everyone that little bit of hope to stand up.” He was about to say more when a loud barking interrupted him. “Ah, speak of the devil and her shadow shall appear,” he leaned down to scratch Sharlindra’s ears mussing up her fur. He thumbed the necklace of shells that had been draped around her neck, “been off to visit old Nola, have you? I bet she's been busy hasn't she?”

“Nola?” Jaina could hardly hide her amazement. She knew of one woman named Nola, but there was no way she lived here.

“The third pillar,” Komu replied cryptically.

“She's a conservationist,” Sammy simplified, wiping grease from his hands, “has a property down by Turtle Beach. And I can tell by that look in your eye that you want to meet her.” Sammy pointed to Sharlindra, “she knows the way. If Nola doesn't talk you to death, feel free to come back for supper.”

Jaina looked between the Orcs and the dog dubiously, “you want me to ask a dog for directions?”

“Why not? She's a smart girl,” Sammy gave her hind leg a hearty pat, “go find Nola, go on.” With a loud bark, Sharlindra took off. Sammy nodded after her, “your guides getting away.”

With no time for thanks for good-byes, Jaina sprinted after the dog. It was the longest she had ever run and Jaina was out of breath by the time she made it to the beach. There were several wooden observation decks lining the edge of the beach and a chain-link fence blocking it off with a small gate as its entrance.

The beach was a hive of activity. What had to be every child in town was combing the long beach, garbage bags in hand. Supervising this massive cleanup were Vereesa and Sylvanas, and an elderly woman calling out encouragement that Jaina recognized right away. She stood by the fence, watching the group of children as they excitedly showed Sylvanas the items they found. The ease and patience with which Sylvanas dealt with the kids was surprising to her. She seemed almost content. Or at least she did, until she spotted Jaina.

Sylvanas’ hers flicked back and she gently prodded the little girl she had been helping to follow Vereesa before slowly making her way over to Jaina. “Do you often make a habit of stalking people, Little Acara? Don't you have work to do?”

Jaina clenched her fists, relaxing slightly when Sharlindra bumped her head against Jaina's hand. “I am not stalking anyone,” she defended herself, “Komu told me that a conservationist lived around here, I thought I might meet her.”

Sylvanas clicked her tongue to get Sharlindra to come to her side before wordlessly walking back to her sister. She gently got the old woman's attention before waving Jaina over. “Proudmoore, this is doctor—,”

“Nola Sage,” Jaina finished, her voice filled with awe. “It's such an honour to meet you,” Jaina had to kneel down slightly to shake the woman's hand. “I’ve read all of your journals! Your study on green turtle migration was absolutely fascinating! Your work is part of what got me to study marine biology!” She gushed.

Nola chuckled brightly, pushing up her thick glasses, “it’s always nice to meet an admirer. And one so young? The honour is mine, young lady.” She stood back, looking Jaina over, “are you here to help us with the last-minute cleanup?”

Jaina looked between Sylvanas’ scowl and Vereesa's hopeful grin before nodding, “I could be, yes.” The words were barely out of her mouth before Nola had shoved a bag into her hand.

“You can take the upper corner with Sylvanas,” Nola smiled, “make sure you collect everything the beach needs to be cleared by tonight. Go on now,” she gave them a deceptively strong push back to their section before patting Vereesa on the arm and moving back down the beach.

Jaina followed after Sylvanas, picking up little bits of trash as she went. There wasn't much, but more than Jaina would have liked. They worked in silence for a long while. Jaina could hear the excited chattering of the children and more faintly, Nola regaling Vereesa with one tale or another. After a time Jaina grew tired of the silence and glanced at Sylvanas, tying up her bag, “did you really buy up a plot of land to undermine Nazjatar?”

Sylvanas sighed heavily, “does everyone like to ask pointless questions where you're from?”

“It was not a pointless question,” Jaina scoffed, “and I am just trying to make conversation. Sorry for attempting to be polite.”

A small smirk played across Sylvanas’ lips, “so you all do apologize for everything.” She glanced over at Jaina, “I’ve been trying to place your accent since you first showed up and well that settles that.”

“I don't have an accent,” Jaina snapped open another bag, scanning the sand for any more garbage.

The elf didn't look convinced as she continued her task, “sure you don't. Do me a favour?”

“What?”

Sylvanas grinned widely, “say ‘about’.”

Jaina was moments away from using her trash bag as a weapon when Vereesa called out to them, “Sylv! Jaina! Come on back, Nola is getting supper ready!”

Jaina followed Sylvanas back down the beach towards a building that looked more like a lab than a house. There were a few people milling about, most likely Nola’s assistants, setting a low table with plates of food. After a moment of confusion, Jaina realized that the plates were heaped with toppings for tacos. And not just any tacos. She could almost feel herself drooling at the sight of a large platter of beautifully golden fried fish.

The adults stood back to let the children eat first. They loaded up mismatched containers with sloppily made tacos. Arms loaded with their spoils, the children left the lab, calling thanks over their shoulders. Nola clapped her hands together and smiled warmly, “now that the young ones have been dealt with, please, eat. We have quite the show tonight.”

Jaina could hardly keep her mind on her food as she sat next to Nola. She had admired the good doctor since she was a child and now to be sitting next to her, eating tacos of all things! She was filled with a nervous kind of excitement.

“Take a picture, it'll last longer,” Sylvanas sniped shoving half of her sixth taco into her mouth.

“Oh! Would you like one of those,” Nola waved to Vereesa, “what do you kids call them?”

“A selfie, Miss Nola,” Vereesa answered, elbowing Sylvanas and handing her a napkin.

“Yes!” Nola turned back to Jaina, “would you like a selfie, Jaina?”

Jaina nearly dropped her phone in her rush to get it out of her pocket. After taking the picture, she thanked Nola profusely, sending the picture to her class group chat before returning her attention to the easy conversation that had fallen over the table. They ate and chatted until the moon began to rise.

At that point, Nola all but flew from her seat. “Oh! I’ve lost track of the time.” She pulled at Sylvanas’ elbow, “be a dear and help her set up the beach nets.”

Jaina and Vereesa followed them outside, watching as the two carefully unrolled lengths of chicken wire fencing, hooking it onto posts to keep it above the sands. Once they were done, Nola urged them all to follow her up to one of the observation decks. Jaina looked over the expanse of the beach in confusion, “Doctor Sage--,”

“Please dear, just call me Nola.”

Jaina flushed, “Nola, you said there was a show tonight. What exactly are we waiting for.”

“Turtles,” Nola said simply, “I’ve been keeping an eye on this beach for years and I have gotten quite good at calculating when the clutches will hatch. It allows me to prepare the beach to give them a better chance of making it to the water.”

Jaina turned her eyes back to the beach, more interested in the sand than she ever had been. They stood there in the slight chill, waiting. Jaina didn't want to doubt her hero but she was beginning to think that her careful math may have been off. That thought was soon wiped from her mind as a shift in the sand near the edge of the beach signaled the emergence of the first turtles of the year.

The little turtles began to make their long struggle to the ocean, their path illuminated by the light of the moon. But danger called. Overhead gulls circled. The first one dove towards a turtle and Jaina let out a small gasp, clinging to the arm of the person closest to her. She need not have feared, the chicken wire did its job and stopped the gull from being able to scoop up an easy meal.

“Perhaps you are more an octopus than an acara,” Sylvanas said quietly when Jaina continued to her arm, though she made no move to take her arm back.

Jaina let Sylvanas’ arms go, stuffing her hands in her pockets, “sorry.” She wasn't, not really. Her mind tried to wrap around what she had just heard. It had been the gentlest Sylvanas had spoken to her and Jaina had a hard time processing it.

She didn't have time to begin trying to as Nola gleefully declared, “a turtle made it to the water!” She touched Sylvanas’ arm, “this clutch is from one of your turtles, dear. You should be proud.”

Sylvanas’ ears flicked back in slight embarrassment when she glanced over to Jaina, “I help Nola tag turtles.” It was a simple explanation but in those few words, Jaina saw more in Sylvanas than the elf probably would have liked.

Two sides that Jaina had seen. One had to have been an act. An air. Jaina had no idea which side of Sylvanas was the act. The gruff and rude diver, or the softy embarrassed by an old woman's compliments. A question for another time. For now, Jaina was content to watch the little turtles.

It was very late by the time the last turtle made it to the water. Many of Nola's assistants had already turned in, and after a brief farewell, Nola followed suit. “Do you have a place to stay, Jaina?” Vereesa asked as they made their way back to the road, eyeing Jainas backpack. When her friend gave no answer but to scuff the ground, Vereesa turned to Sylvanas, pouting, “Sylv?”

“No,” Sylvanas said sternly, “she should have thought about where she would be staying before she decided to strand herself here.” When she noticed that neither of the other two women were following them. Her ears pinned back when she saw that Jaina was wearing a near-identical pout to her sister, “seriously? Are you really going to stoop to that?” The staredown was broken when Jaina went the extra mile and made her lip quiver. Sylvanas threw her hands up in defeat, “fine, fine!” she started walking again, “you can sleep on the couch, Little Acara.”

Jaina hurried to catch up, “thank you so much.”

“I wouldn't thank me yet,” Sylvanas glanced over her shoulder, “Sharlindra is a bed hog.”


	5. Chapter 5

Sylvanas hadn’t been joking when she said that Sharlindra was a bed hog. Jaina had spent the whole night smooshed against the back of the couch, Sharlindra stretched out behind her in the picture of comfort. It wasn’t entirely uncomfortable. Sharlindra wasn’t a fitful sleeper, not like Jainas old family dog had been, so it was less like she was stuck between a dog and a hard place, and more of a body pillow that occasionally huffed in her ear.

Or, at least, it hadn’t been uncomfortable, until Sharlindra launches herself off the couch, kicking Jainas back hard enough to knock the wind out of her. She rolled over, wheezing for air to see Sylvanas pulling on a pair of shoes. “Where are going so early?” Jaina asked, her voice cracking slightly.

“Morning run,” Sylvanas grunted in reply, grabbing her water bottle from the table. She quirked a brow when Jaina scrambled off the couch and got her own shoes on. “And what do you think you’re doing?”

“Going with you,” Jaina replied simply. She dug through her bag to pull out a quick change of clothes and a light hoodie, “wait for me?” She didn't wait for a reply before going to the washroom to change. Jaina was surprised when Sylvanas was still waiting by the door when she got out of the washroom. “You actually waited?” Jaina could hardly keep the surprise from her voice.

Sylvanas shrugged, “this will give me the chance to test you. See if you have the stamina to handle the dive I have planned today.” As she left she called over her shoulder, “try not to fall behind,” and off she ran.

To Jaina's credit, she didn’t fall behind. She and Sylvanas ran shoulder to shoulder, though Jaina was convinced that the elf had slowed herself to allow Jaina to keep pace. It was a beautiful morning for a run. The air was still and quiet, save for the sound of Jainas increasingly laboured breathing, and the faint glow of the sun as it began to creep up, casting the world in a strange light.

The longer they ran, the more Jaina could imagine them to be racing the sunrise. And maybe they were. Sylvanas kept glancing towards the advancing daylight and it was that that spurred the human into her second wind. Drawing on energy and stamina that she didn’t know she had, Jaina passed Sylvanas.

It was rather exhilarating. When was the last time she had run, just for the sake of running? They slowed to a stop on an outcropping and Jaina flopped down on the ground. Jaina drew in sharp gasps of air, trying to slow her pounding heart. She blinked in confusion when Sylvanas handed her a bottle of water. “Uh, thank you?” Jaina accepted the bottle and began to chug it back.

“Slow down,” Sylvanas advised, “you’ll give yourself hiccups.”

Jaina blushed lightly and handed the bottle back. “Do you do this run every day?”

Sylvanas nodded, pulling her knees up to her chest, “used to do runs like these with my squad every day. Some habits don't die, I suppose.” She glanced over at Jaina, taking a sip from the water, “you did good, Little Acara,” Sylvanas said, turned a tarnished coin over and over in her hand, rolling it between her fingers, “I didn't actually think you would be able to keep up. Colour me impressed.”

“But not impressed enough to call me by my name,” Jaina grumbled, scratching Sharlindras ears.

“Take it as a compliment,” Sylvanas shrugged as she stood up to stretch, “my CO didn’t call any of us by our names for two years.”

“I really don’t think that was meant as a compliment,” Jaina said as she followed suit, laughing when Sharlindra tried to imitate them. It took a while, but what Sylvanas had said finally clicked in Jainas's mind, “wait, did you say CO?” She turned to the elf, noting how her ears had flicked back. So she hadn’t meant to say that. “Were you in the military?” Jaina asked only for Sylvanas to resume their run with no warning. “Sylvanas! Wait!”

She had clearly dropped all attempts at keeping pace as Jaina struggled to keep up. By the time she made it back to the house, Sylvanas had long since returned and Vereesa was standing outside waiting, her ears twitching at every sound as she looked about worriedly. She relaxed when she saw Jaina, “there you are! I was so worried!” She pulled Jaina into a hug before leading her inside, where another simple breakfast was waiting for her.

Sylvanas was nowhere to be seen. “Where’d your sister go?” Jaina asked as she spread jam over a piece of toast.

“Took her breakfast down to her boat to get it ready,” Vereesa answered, “she seemed kind of agitated… more so than usual. What happened out there?”

“Nothing,” Jaina said after a time, “I just asked her a question, that’s all.” When she was met with a hard stare Jaina continued, “all I asked was if she had been in the military. That’s all.”

“Oh,” Vereesa said, looking at her plate sullenly, “one of the few questions you really shouldn’t ask her. My sister… she doesn't like to talk about it.” Vereesa fell quiet for a long moment, glancing towards the door. “Honourable discharge,” Vereesa quietly informed her friend, “but she never told us what she did to receive it. She always got so angry when our parents tried to ask that we just kind of gave up. And then she came here.”

Jaina's mind was awash with thoughts and questions as they finished their breakfast before getting changed to go and meet Sylvanas aboard the  _ Banshee _ . She found herself watching Sylvanas with newfound interest. What branch had she been in? Why had she been discharged? What was she running from? Jaina had been so wrapped up in her own mind that she didn’t notice that Sylvanas had come to crouch in front of her, staring at her critically.

She let out a startled sound, nearly falling out of her seat, only saved by Sylvanas’ hand shoot out swiftly to grab her arm, steadying her. “You scared the shit out of me!” Jaina snapped as Sylvanas stepped back.

The elf shrugged, her ear flicking back at the sound of Vereesa trying not to laugh. “Had to make sure you hadn’t checked out completely. We’re here, I’ll fill you in on the details after you get suited up.”

When Jaina returned to the deck in her wetsuit, she was surprised to see Vereesa getting ready. “You’re going down with me?” Jaina asked.

Vereesa smiled nervously, “Sylvanas says it's a big wreck so your first dive should be just a perimeter swim. I can handle that much.”

“It’s an old US gunship,” Sylvanas supplied, dropping the anchor, “it’s been down there since the forties so it should have plenty of growth.” She looked at Jaina's camera with a frown, “it was a fully manned ship so I expect you to handle this respectfully,” there was a harshness in her voice that made Jaina stand a little straighter.

Jaina didn’t need Sylvanas to explain what she meant, “I’ll delete any footage that is too sensitive. I promise.”

That seemed to appease Sylvanas as she helped the two into their gear. Before Jaina had a chance to jump in after Vereesa, Sylvanas caught her arm, her grip tight, “you take care of my sister down there.”

Her first instinct was to bristle at the order, but the oddly sincere look on Sylvanas’ face calmed her. “I always do,” Jaina said, “and she has gotten quite good.”

“I know,” Sylvanas sighed, “go on, she’s waiting.”

Still a bit off tilt from their little talk, Jaina jumped in after Vereesa. They didn't have to swim down too far to be able to see the ship. It had come to rest on its side and they didn't need to look too hard to see what had caused the great warship to sink. A massive hole had been blown into its side, nearly causing it to crack. Jaina’s mood became more somber the closer they got. The ship was still teeming with life, a myriad of different fish were schooling around its hull, swimming in and out of the various openings and through the heavy growth of coral that thickly covered it.

To think, that so much life could thrive in the place of so much death.

It took three separate dives, but Jaina managed to examine the entire outer shell. But Jaina was itching to get inside. She dove down with Sylvanas, keeping close to her as they looked for a way in. They found their entry point in the form of a door. It led into a small hallway, which in turn led further into the depths of the ship.

It was darker than Jaina had expected and she fumbled for her flashlight. A sudden creak drew her attention towards the door as the shadow of a fish swam by, bumping into it. She watched in shock as the hatch swung closed, plunging the hallway into darkness. Panic bubbled up in her as she scrambled to turn on her light. She tried her best to calm herself, to remember how she had been taught to deal with situations like this, as she finally got her light on.

She had expected to see Sylvanas calmly waiting to be able to see so that she could get them out. That the elf would be as cool and collected as she always seemed to be. What she hadn't expected, was to watch as Sylvanas rammed the door with her shoulder over and over. She yanked at the handwheel, ear pinned back and eyes wide and wild behind her mask.

Jaina swam forward and pulled her away from the door, grabbing the handwheel herself. It took all of her strength to get it open, but she managed. Once it was open, however, Sylvanas shot passed her, trying to get to the surface as fast as she could. Jaina was quick to grab her, forcing her to stop. She guided them up slowly, tugging at Sylvanas’ arm anytime she tried to ascend too quickly.

At long last, they broke the surface and Sylvanas scrambled up onto the  _ Banshee _ . She tossed her gear carelessly onto the deck, squeezing her eyes shut as she drew in great gulps of air. “Take us back to shore, Vereesa,” Her voice cracked. She didn't look at her sister or Jaina as she all but threw herself below deck.

“What happened down there?” Vereesa asked once Jaina was safely on board.

“We got stuck inside,” Jaina said, struggling out of her wetsuit before wrapping herself in the towel Vereesa offered her. “She snapped, I’ve never seen anything like it.” In the time it took Jaina and Vereesa to get the  _ Banshee _ ready to make the trip back to shore, Sylvanas had not come back topside. Frustrated, Jaina gave Vereesa a pat on the shoulder and went down after the older elf.

“Sylvanas?” Jaina frowned when she saw that the elf wasn't in the main seating area. She pulled the curtain that separated the bunks aside to find Sylvanas curled up in one the bunks, her back to Jaina. Jaina crossed her arms, “what happened down there?” No response. “You have been so worried about my ability to dive safely and then you go and lose your head. You put us both at risk.” Silence. Jaina sighed heavily through her nose, “look, I know that was terrifying, but I need you to tell me if this is going to be a problem if I need to look at different ways of examining the insides of these wrecks.”

Sylvanas shifted slightly in the bunk, moving so that she could look over her shoulder at Jaina. The fear had left her eyes, leaving her with a look of deep exhaustion. “Claustrophobic,” she admitted, shame tingeing her voice.

“Claustrophobic,” Jaina repeated quietly. Now that she thought about it, Sylvanas rarely followed her further than she needed to when Jaina went into the wrecks. She always stayed just inside the entryways, just close enough to be able to keep an eye on Jaina. She nodded her understanding, “I’ll talk to Doctor Sage, see if she minds lending me some of her camera equipment. Maybe she has one of those underwater drones.”

Sylvanas moved so that she could sit up, “you don't have to do that. It's fine. I’m fine. I--,”

“You’re still shaking,” Jaina observed, keeping her voice soft but not patronizing, “you're not fine, and that okay. I’ll find a workaround so that you don't have to go into the wrecks with me.”

Sylvanas frowned, eyeing Jaina skeptically, “why would you go to all that trouble? You hired me to take you into the wrecks, that was our deal.”

“When we’re down there together we have to keep each other safe,” Jaina said, “hired or not, it's my job to keep you safe down there just as much as it's your job to keep me safe. Or is that not how you were taught?”

Sylvanas chewed at her lip before nodded, “you're right,” she shook her head, “and I hate that you’re right.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Jaina found herself smiling, “you’re still stuck with me for another month at least.”

“Damn contracts,” Sylvanas scoffed, though there was no real bite to her words. She held a hand out to Jaina, her fingers still faintly trembling, “partners?”

Jaina smiled as she took Sylvanas’ hand in her own, squeezing it lightly to hold it steady, “partners.”


	6. Chapter 6

In the month she had spent in the Caribbean, Jaina had gotten used to a lot of different things. The weather didn’t make her want to die nearly as much, and Jaina had to grudgingly admit that Vereesa may have had a point about getting acclimatized. The days spent in and around the ocean were nothing short of a blessing and even Sylvanas’ ever present snark had simply become routine. Yes, Jaina had gotten used to her summer life here, maybe that was why it was so much harder to sit next to her friend in the back of Sammy's jeep as they made their way to the ferry docks. 

Jaina had completely forgotten that Vereesa had only come with her on vacation, and that time was up. When they arrived, Jaina helped Sammy get Vereesa's bags out of the back while she and Sylvanas said their goodbyes. 

“Please make sure to call us,” Vereesa pleaded, her voice thick with tears, hugging Sylvanas a little too tightly, “or text or email or something. Don’t just drop us again. Please, ‘Vanas?”

Sylvanas didn’t seem to mind the vice grip her little sister had on her and merely rocked gently, doing her best to calm her, “I promise. I won’t drop off the world again.” She pried herself out of Vereesa's arms and brought their foreheads together. “Take care of yourself. And say ‘hi’ to mom and dad for me.”

“You could always come and visit us,” Vereesa said, her ears laying back. She looked very much like she wanted to take the offer back

To her surprise, Sylvanas reached out, running her hand over her sisters hair, “I’ll try to come home.” That had Vereesa throwing herself at Sylvanas once more. When she finally managed to free herself once more, Sylvanas nodded back to Jaina, “your friend is looking to say goodbye, too.”

Jaina smiled fondly as her friend pulled her into a similarly crushing hug. She chuckled lightly, “come on now, you’d think I’m the one going home with how you’re carrying on.”

“Take care,” Vereesa said quietly.

Jaina didn't need to ask if her friend meant for her to take care of Sylvanas or herself. She just nodded, holding Vereesa tighter, “I promise we’ll stay out of trouble.” The sound of the ferry’s horn broke them apart, “you call me as soon as your plane lands, understand?”

Vereesa gave her a mock salute before collecting her bags, “yes ma’am.”

They stood on the docks long after the ferry had disappeared from sight. Jaina felt a deep ache settled in her chest. She had been enjoying her time with her friend, and now with her gone, Jaina felt suddenly alone. Jaina startled slightly when a heavy hand was placed on her shoulder.

Sammy offered her a reassuring smile, “back to your hotel, Jaina?”

Jaina sighed and nodded, “thank you. I have to get packed up.”

Sammy frowned, “packed? Why?”

“I might not have enough money to stay there without Vereesa’s help,” Jaina forced a nervous laugh.

“You didn't plan for what would happen when she left?” came Sylvanas’ biting tone. Before Jaina could reply Sylvanas continued, “I guess there's nothing for it. You’ll have to stay with me until you can find somewhere.”

Jaina bristled, “I don't need a handout. I can always see if Doctor Sage has any space for me.”

“A handout?” Sylvanas barked a laugh, “it's cute that you think you’ll be staying for free.” Sylvanas patted Sammy's arm, “come on Sam’go, let's get back to town. The smell of this crowded dock is starting to give me a headache.” With that, Sylvanas stalked back to the jeep.

Sammy let out a small huff of laughter, “well I’ll be damned,” he shook his head, “never thought I’d see the day.”

Jaina stared up at him in confusion, “what? See what, Sammy?”

“Windrunner seems to have taken a liking to you,” Sammy replied, “don’t know how you managed that.” He looked about to say more when Sylvanas leaned on the jeeps horn.

“I’d prefer to get out of this town before any Nazjatar boot kissers start hovering around hawking  _ ‘scenic tours’ _ ,” Sylvanas called from the passenger's seat. 

Jaina grimaced, “how can you tell? She’s just as much of an ass as she was before.”

“Well, she hasn’t gotten any worse,” Sammy grinned, hurrying to his jeep before Sylvanas could break the horn. 

The trip back to the hotel was mercifully brief and with Sammy and Sylvanas’ help Jaina was packed and ready to leave in record time. Which only left the long drive back to town ahead of them. Sylvanas rode shotgun, silently staring out the window, her fingers drumming along with the beat from the radio. Sammy was quiet, focusing on the road. Every so often he would ask Sylvanas something in a voice too low for Jaina to hear, and Sylvanas would reply in an equally quiet tone.

That left Jaina to get comfortable in the back seat. She pulled her laptop out of her bag so that she could go through some of the videos she hadn't had time to properly review yet. Headphones on, Jaina skimmed through the multitude of videos. The first few were from their latest dives. A couple of fishing boats, small but still teeming with life. When she came to the videos of the warship, Jaina paused. The incident had been far too fresh in her mind for her to be able to watch it again so she had shelved the video to examine later. She glanced back towards Sylvanas, chewing lightly at her lip before playing the video. She watched their search for the door and their entrance. Watching Sylvanas panic was more difficult than being trapped with her had been. The fear, the utter blind panic. Jaina didn't think twice about deleting the video.

She had promised, after all. Sure, that promise had been about anyone they may have found in the ship, but no one needed to see the prideful elf struck that low. No, Jaina wouldn’t have it. 

She lost herself in her work, flicking back and forth between her videos and her notes. She even managed to formally transcribe some of her notes into her thesis. It was shaping up nicely, she thought. 

“You expecting company?” Jaina heard Sammy say over the sound of the video. She paused it, pulling out one of her headphones.

“I’m never expecting company,” Sylvana said lowly, her shoulders hunched, ears pinned back.

Jaina closed her laptop, craning her neck to see what the two were looking at. A large black suv was parked at the end of Sylvanas’ driveway. A logo had been emblazoned on this door, a squid with its tentacles wrapped around on anchor. Jaina knew that branding, one of Nazjatars subsidiaries. Ashvane Security Inc. She frowned, racking her brain for reasons for them to be there. 

“Stay in the car, Little Acara,” Sylvanas’ voice was tense as she got out. Carefully picking her way up the rest of the driveway. Sammy promptly followed after her. 

Jaina did as she was told for all of a minute before following after them. She crept up the driveway, making sure that no one saw her until she could hear Sylvanas clearly snapping at someone. 

“I don’t care what you are offering,” Sylvanas growled, “get the fuck off of my property before I find a new place for you to put that bitchs  _ generous offer _ !”

That got Jaina moving. She rounded the corner to see just who exactly had come to talk with the elf and scowled. Priscilla Ashvane herself. She had seen her in the news often and Jaina was quick to note that she looked just as pompous in her overpriced pantsuit in person as she did on tv. 

Priscilla's face soured, “my benefactor—,”

“She already owns your ass, Ashvane,” Sylvanas sneered, “no need to go kissing hers. I gave you my answer, now kindly fuck off.”

Jaina didn’t need to be able to see Sylvanas’ face to know that the confrontation was only going to escalate when Priscilla started talking again. She tried to make herself seem important as she could, tilting her chin up and squaring her shoulders back, well aware how ridiculous she must look with her flowing green sundress. She walked into full view, keeping her pace even and unhurried. “Is there a problem out here, Miss Windrunner?” Jaina asked, patting Sammy on the arm, “be a dear and fetch my bags for me, Sam’go?” She shot him an apologetic smile over her shoulder as he left.

“And just who are you?” Priscilla asked.

Jaina smiled, closing the distance between them and holding her hand out for the other woman to shake, squeezing her hand just a bit more than strictly polite, “Jaina Proudmoore, Proudmoore Fishery Enterprises.”

Priscilla cocked a brow at this, “I’ve never heard of such a company.”

“We aren't very big outside of Canada,” Jaina said, still smiling, “but we’re looking to expand.”

Seemingly content with her answer, Priscilla stepped back towards her guards, crossing her hands behind her back, “Priscilla Ashvane, CEO of--,” 

“ Ashvane Security Inc,” Jaina cut her off, “I’ve heard of you. I am a big fan of your underhanded sellout to Nazjatar to avoid that tax scandal.” She glanced at Sylvanas, “unfortunately, I’m afraid that any possible business you have with Miss Windrunner will have to be put on hold until her contract with me has expired.”

“Your… contract?” Jaina swore that Priscilla's eye twitched.

“Of course,” Jaina nodded, patting Sylvanas on the shoulder, trying not to flinch when the elf brushed her off and stalked off towards the dock. “Check on my equipment while you’re down there!” She called. Turning her attention back to Priscilla, she continued, “as I said, we’re looking to expand and Miss Windrunner has signed an exclusive contract with me so, I’m afraid that settles that matter.” Jaina tilted her head, “unless you would like lawyers to get involved, I know how good of a track record you have with those.”

That really did seem to settle the matter, as Priscilla and her goons stormed past Jaina, nearly knocking into Sammy as he returned with her bags. Jaina dropped her act as soon as the suv sped off and she hurried to take her bags away from him. “I am so, SO sorry about that Sammy!” Jaina said in a rush, placing her bags behind her, “I would never imply that you… that I--,”

“Hey, it's okay,” Sammy soothed her and a soft smile, “I get it. That was a pretty clever move you pulled. I never would have guessed that you came from money.”

“I um… I don't. Not really at least,” Jaina admitted.

Sammy held a hand to his chest in mock front, “you mean to tell me that you lied to that terrible woman?”

“Well, yes and no,” Jaina said, “my dad has his own little fishing company, nothing as big as an  _ enterprise _ but it gave me so many opportunities.”

“Oppertinues like lying to sleazy business women?” Sammy grinned.

“Yes, like lying to sleazy business woman,” Jaina laughed. She looked towards the dock, “I should go and check on her. Sorry again, Sammy.” 

“It’s fine, honestly. Make sure she hasn't taken her boat out into the middle of the ocean.”

Once he had left, Jaina carried her bags into the spare bedroom, dumping them on the bed before searching the house for a few scrapes of rope. Rope in hand, Jaina made her way down to the dock. She found Sylvanas sitting on the edge, the coin once more in her hands.

“I told you to stay in the car,” Sylvanas said, her ears flicking back.

Jaina huffed, “we weren't at sea, you don't really have the grounds to order me around on land.”

“I had it handled,” Sylvanas grumbled, scooting over when Jaina sat down next to her.

“Of course you did,” Jaina said, pulling off her sandals to dip her toes in the water, “sure didn't look like it. Besides, Vereesa asked me to take care of you.”

Sylvanas’ gaze snapped to Jaina, “I don’t need you taking care of my problems.”

“Try telling that to your sister,” Jaina said. She took a breath before handing Sylvanas one of the pieces of rope. When Sylvanas gave at her a questioning look, Jaina explained, “when I was a kid, my dad thought that I should learn how to sail. So he signed me up for a summer of sailing on the  St Lawrence River. All the knots we had to learn became kind of cathartic for me, and since then it's helped me anytime I get anxious.”

“I’m not anxious, I’m angry.”

Jaina shrugged, “it's calming. Maybe it will help you relax more than thumbing over that coin.” When Sylvanas tensed, Jaina offered her a smile, “I’m not going to pry you about it. I get that it's important to you. Just, tie your knots.”

They sat together tying and retying various knots. “Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer, but, what do you have against Nazjatar?”

“Why do you?” Sylvanas didn't look up from her rope.

Jaina frowned, her brow creasing, “I’m an environmentalist at heart. Almost every branch of it goes against what I believe in. But you don't strike me as an environmentalist, or even an activist.”

Sylvanas was silent for a long time. Long enough that Jaina had given up on waiting for an answer and had gone back to her knots. She almost startled when Sylvanas finally spoke. “Did you know that one of Nazjatars branches helps to fund several militant groups in poorer coastal places? Probably not, they are very good at hiding it,” she kept her gaze down as she spoke, “when local governments refuse to allow them access, they turn to other less legal means of getting what they want. And once the government isnt in a place to turn down their money, a cleanup is needed, and they dont always go over well. For the cleanup crews, that is. Nazjatar. Ashvane. All the arms of that  conglomerate, they all make out like kings,” she finally looked at Jaina, “that is what I have against Nazjatar.”

Jaina looked at Sylvanas as if seeing her for the first time. “Well,” she started to try and break the sudden tension, “that beats dragnet fishing by a mile, eh?”

Finally, Sylvanas smiled, “so you really do say that.”

Jaina shook her head, giving Sylvanas a playful shove, “ass.”

“Says the heiress of  _ Proudmoore Fishery Enterprises _ ,” Sylvanas bared her fangs in a rather insufferable grin.

Jaina rolled her eyes, placing her hand on Sylvanas’ shoulder as support to stand up, collecting her sandals, “come on, lets get some dinner.”

“You going to cook for me? Start paying off your B&B fees?”

“Sure, whatever you want,” Jaina called over her shoulder.

“Dangerous words, Little Acara. Dangerous words.”


	7. Chapter 7

As it turned out, Sylvanas had very refined tastes. In those few days on land waiting for Nola's equipment, Jaina learned that she was a better cook than she thought she was. Sylvanas had requested a baked fish the first leaving Jauna to clean and scale the fish.

She knew that it had been meant as a trap. A challenge or a test that the elf clearly expected Jaina to fail or balk at. She clearly had thought that Jaina had been lying or at least exaggerating when she had said her father owned a fishery. Jaina had grown up fishing with her father, helping him and her brothers clean their catch’s since she was old enough to hold a knife.

The following morning, after their run, she had been asked to make eggs Benedict for the two of them. It took Jaina just a few minutes of googling to find a simple enough recipe before she got to work. Her sauce only split on her twice and by the time she was done, Jaina was more than proud of herself. Proud enough that she sent pictures of her creation to both her parents and Vereesa. ‘Sorry, you left yet?’

‘Not exactly what I had in mind when I asked you to take care of her,’ came Vereesa's reply, ‘but I am a little jealous. You never cook for me.’

‘You never ask.’

The rest of her wait unfolded in a similar way. She would cook and help out around the property before spending an afternoon out in the water freediving.

Jaina had been helping Sylvanas do a few repairs on her windmill when she was started by Sharlindra's sudden barking. She stiffened at the sound of a roaring engine, gripping the screwdriver she had been holding a little tighter. She tensed when Sylvanas dropped from the ladder to stand next to her, her ears twitching at the sound. A truck came tearing up the driveway, skidding to a stop with a lurch.

The passenger side door opened and one of Nola’s assistants, a lanky night elf, all but threw himself from the truck to sprawl out on the ground. He muttered out prayers and thanks, crossing himself. Moments later, Nola hopped down from the driver's side, shaking her head, “such dramatics.” She pushed her glasses up as she looked around, smiling when she spotted Jaina, waving, “Jaina!”

“Doctor Sage?” Jaina relaxed, placing a hand on Sylvanas’ arm before going down to greet the older woman. “What are you doing here?”

“Just Nola, Dear,” Nola took Jainas hand and lead her over to the truck, “my colleague was finally able to get me that drone you were asking about.”

That got Jainas full attention as she all but jumped into the back of the truck to get a better look. “Sylvanas you have to come and see this!”

“It doesn't look very impressive,” Sylvanas said when she joined them.

“Doesn't look—,” Jaina looked at Sylvanas in horror, “doesn't look very impressive? Do you even know what this is?”

“It’s a drone,” the elf shrugged.

“This is the Cadillac of underwater drones,” Jaina pulled herself into the truck to get a better look at it. “It’s in such great condition!” She looked back to Sylvanas, “can we go out? Are there any close wrecks?”

Sylvanas frowned, “we are literally in the middle of something.”

“And I’m on a time limit,” Jaina countered, “please, Sylvanas?”

Sylvanas tilted her head back and sighed, “there is a large steamboat not too far out that was on the list. I suppose we can make it out there for a few quick dives before it gets dark.”

“That’s the spirit!” Nola beamed, glancing over the hood, “Ardan! Be a dear and help these ladies get the drone out.”

The night elf, Ardan, stood slowly and carefully walked back to the truck as if he was afraid that it would bite him, “when we’re done here I could drive us back to the lab,” he offered hopefully.

“After all the heavy lifting you’ve done for me today?” Nola smiled, “no, you just relax.”

‘Help me,’ Ardan mouthed as he carefully passed the drone over to Sylvanas. When it became obvious that they weren’t going to save him, Ardan trudged back to the truck. He whispered another prayer to himself before climbing in.

They watched in silence as the truck peeled away in a way that couldn’t have been safe, or legal. “Should we be worried?” Jaina asked.

“About Nola or her assistant?” Sylvanas quirked a brow before adding, “the old girl hasn’t been arrested yet and his fate is out of our hands.” She nodded towards the house, “go and collect our gear while I get this thing down to the boat.”

“Senni,” Jaina corrected her, patting the drone, “her name is Senni.” She laughed at the shocked look Sylvanas gave her and hurried into the house. All of their gear had been packed away in a small closet at the front door and Jaina wasted no time grabbing it and the few scraps of rope that she knew would be there before stuffing a few bottles of water and some food into the pack. When she got down to the Banshee, Sylvanas was still trying to get Senni setup while Sharlindra padded around comfortably on the deck. Jaina frowned with concern, “are we taking her out with us?”

“Why not?” Sylvanas shrugged, setting the drone aside to scratch Sharlindra’s ears. “She likes it out on the water and I’ll be staying aboard to pilot… Senni. She’ll be fine up here.” She paused and glanced up at Jaina, “I still have to figure out how this drone works. The coordinates are already programmed in, do you think you could take her out?”

Jaina nearly dropped the pack in her shock. “You're seriously going to let me pilot her?”

“You know how right?” Sylvanas asked, “and you aren't going to run her aground?”

Jaina nodded quickly, setting their gear down to approach the wheel. She ran her hand along the wheel almost reverently. She hadn't been at the helm of a boat since highschool but Jaina was happy to find the memories flooding back as she started the engine, pulling away after Sylvanas had untied them.

It was a perfect afternoon for Jaina to get back behind the wheel. The water was calm and clear, the sky bright. She was only just beginning to really enjoy herself when the GPS beeped, announcing that they had arrived. Cutting the engine, Jaina walked to the stern to drop the anchors before dropping down below deck to get into her wetsuit.

“You did good, Little Acara,” Sylvanas commented as she tightened the tether that attached the drone to the wireless transmitter. She nodded to the water, “you hop in first and I’ll place Senni in after you.”

Jaina nodded and did just that. She waited just below the surface while she waited for the drone to descend. She watched in sink down turning in small circles as Sylvanas tested the controls. When Jaina flashed a ‘thumbs up’ the front of the drone bobbed up and down in a mimicry of a nod. With that, Jaina began to swim down toward the wreck. When Sylvanas had said that she would find a steamboat, Jaina had expected to come across a boat powered by steam, not an old paddlewheel cruise boat.

It was different than the other wrecks that Jaina had dived to during her trip, that went without saying. With its window-lined sides, Jaina could see that the coral growth was just as strong inside the ship as it was outside. Getting inside proved difficult. Most of the doors were jammed and many of the ones that weren't were overgrown.

Jaina was about to give up when the drone bumped into her leg. When Jaina turned she saw Senni being piloted around the back of the ship towards a final door. Checking her watch, Jaina followed. She had to twist herself to get through without damaging the surrounding coral but she managed.

Faint light filtered in through the overgrown windows, casting the world Jaina swam into in shimmering greens and pale yellows. It was beautiful. Small fish swam past her, unafraid of her presence and Jaina was amazed to find that she could reach out and brush her gloved hand against some of the more adventurous fish. It was groundbreaking. An entire ecosystem so well protected from large predators that Jaina’s, and the little drones, addition to their space was hardly cause for concern.

Jaina stayed inside of the ship for as long as her air tank would allow. She took so many videos that she filled her entire memory card. She directed Sylvanas to Pilot Senni into spaced she couldn't reach, holding the tether away from the corals.

When she finally resurfaced, Jainas's mind was awash with thoughts and ideas and she swam as fast as she could to get back to the Banshee to get to her phone. In her hast, Jaina stumbled over her fins. Her fall was stopped by Sylvanas grabbing her arm and hauling her back to her feet.

“I’ll grab your phone while you get those off,” Sylvanas said after she helped Jaina sit down.

“Thank you,” Jaina flushed with embarrassment as she accepted her phone. She typed out her rough notes while Sylvanas pulled Senni back up onto the deck. Not for the first time, Jaina found herself staring at Sylvanas while she worked. Her mind drifted from her work and to the elf, as it so often did. Sylvanas was like a very interesting and appealing puzzle, and Jaina really enjoyed puzzles. She was growing increasingly tolerable to Jaina, and she had learned that being tolerated by the puzzling woman was the same thing, to her at least, as kindness.

Her puzzling mind aside, Jaina found herself watching the way Sylvanas moved. The way her muscled flexed as she hoisted the drone up over the side. How she seemed to favour one arm over the other. How the light of the late afternoon sun reflected in her eyes.

Jaina found herself blushing for entirely different reasons as Sylvanas turned to face her. “You alright there, Little Acara? You're looking a little red.”

“Fine!” Jaina cleared her throat before peeling her wetsuit off and pulling on a shirt, “little too much sun today.”

Sylvanas gave a noncommittal hum as she dug through the bag for the food, tossing a water bottle to Jaina, “probably doesn't help that you haven't eaten anything since breakfast,”

“And whose fault is that?” Jaina asked after downing half the bottle, “you’re the one who kept me outside to run maintenance on your little power grid.”

Sylvanas’ ears flicked back and she looked away, “I did tell you that you wouldn't be staying for free.”

“I suppose you did,” Jaina agreed. She pulled one of the premade sandwiches that Sylvanas insisted on keeping in her fridge, peeling back the wax paper to take a bite.

“Let's call it a day,” Sylvanas said, sitting down on the deck next to Jaina with her own sandwich, offering a few crackers to Sharlindra. “I still need to finish that maintenance and I’m sure that you are itching to jot down as much information as you can for your project.”

“My thesis,” Jaina corrected, “and, as right as you are, I think I’d like to spend the rest of my day helping you.”

“Why?” Sylvanas’ head turned so quickly that Jaina swore she heard a snap.

Jaina shrugged, “I focus my thoughts better at night.”

“Okay, I get that you don't sleep,” Sylvanas said, “but why would you willingly spend the rest of your day with me?”

“Would you believe me if I said I enjoyed your company?” Jaina asked.

“No,” Sylvanas said, her voice a little small, “but, you're not the lying type, I’ve seen that much. So I guess it must be true.”

“It is,” Jaina smiled, “I promise it is. I don't lie to my friends.”

Sylvanas nearly choked on her sandwich. “Friends?”

“Well,” Jaina turned her attention to Sharlindra, distracting herself, “I’d say we are. In our own weird way. Wouldn't you?”

Sylvanas was quiet before giving Jaina a small nod, “yeah, I suppose we are.”

“Does that mean that you’re going to call me by my name?” Jaina joked.

“In your dreams, Little Acara,” Sylvanas laughed brightly.

It was the first time Jaina had heard Sylvanas laugh, really laugh. It was a beautiful sound and Jaina knew then that she would try to hear it as often as possible.


	8. Chapter 8

“You're getting rather fast, Little Acara,” Sylvanas commented as she lowered herself to sit next to where Jaina had flopped down on their usual outcropping. Sliding off her small pack, Sylvanas dug out their water bottles and the small bowl she had brought for Shalindra. Sylvanas nudged Jaina's head with the bottle, “sit up and drink your water.”

Snatching the bottle when it was pressed more firmly into her cheek, Jaina sat up and took a long swig. “I would be more concerned if I wasn't,” she said, leaning back on her elbow, “doing this run with you every morning? If I wasn't getting faster I’d start to actually worry about my health.”

“The sliver of sleep you get is concerning enough,” Sylvanas agreed, pouring water for a very patient Shalindra before turning her gaze towards the sunrise. Just as she did every morning as they sat and watched the sunrise, Sylvanas once more pulled her coin from her pocket. She turned it end over end in a mindlessly idle manner.

Jaina found herself watching the coin, glancing up at the forlorn expression that Sylvanas always seemed to where when she held it. Not long after she had begun her stay in the elf’s house, Jaina had been drawn to a shelf tucked into the corner of the living room. At a glance, there was nothing of note to see. A few knick-knacks and other items gathering dust. But sitting alone on the top shelf was a photo.

It was framed, unassuming in its plainness, but Jaina couldn't help but standing up on her toes to get a better look. A candid shot in a mess hall, of what Jaina could only assume was Sylvanas’ team. They were laughing, clustered around a younger Sylvanas and the man that she had trapped in a playful headlock, a near-identical coin in her hand, held just away from the man's grasp. Her good-natured game of keep away captured forever. She looked so happy, her grin broad enough to show the brilliant flash of her fangs.

It had taken her a moment of squint-eyed staring to recognise the coin, to see it, and the one that Sylvanas kept on her, for what they were. Challenge coin. If she wasn't certain if the people in the photo had been her team, that solidified it as fact.

The photo had filled Jaina with a deep sense of sorrow. She couldn't put this younger image and the elf she knew together. She could hardly imagine Sylvanas joking around, let alone letting her guard down around so many people. How close they all seemed. Even the burly man that was trying to separate the two looked to be in good humour. If they had been so close, so tight-knit, where were they? Why had Sylvanas sequestered herself alone on this distant island?

Jaina didn't want to think the worst. Didn't want to run the risk of the possible pity she might feel if she allowed her to mind to drift to the most probable reason. Sylvanas wouldn't want that, didn't need that.

In her distraction, Jaina blurted out, “did you do this run with your team?” The coin stopped moving and Jaina just caught the sight of the faint tremble in the elf’s hands. Jaina's eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth, “I’m sorry! I said I wouldn't pry and I’m sorry.” Sylvanas said nothing and Jaina felt her stomach plummet. She had just started warming up to Jaina and now… Now Jaina feared they were back to square one.

“Every day,” Sylvanas’ voice was quiet but it still startled Jaina, “no matter where we were we tried to take a run like this every day. Even if it was just laps around the camp.” Jaina was silent. Sylvanas ran her fingers through Sharlindra’s fur, “it started when we were in training. We hated it, but Nathanos had the bright idea to make it into a race. Loser lost his coin for the day and had to do a few of our extra duties. Even our CO got in on it. Whenever we ended up near open water it got more interesting. After our run we’d…”

“You’d what?” Jaina asked softly, almost afraid of scaring Sylvanas off, “what would you all do after your run?”

“Swim,” Sylvanas stared wistfully out into the water, “we’d pick a point out in the water and race to that point.”

Downing the rest of her water, Jaina pulled their pack over to herself, her eyes scanning the open water that stretched out before them. She placed her phone and her shoes into it, shifting them so that there was still room before standing to pull her shirt off so that she stood in just her shorts and sports bra.

“What are you doing?” Sylvanas asked her, shock and confusion evident in her voice.

“There's a rock out there,” Jaina pointed. It was large enough for, maybe, three people to lay on, far enough from shore that weaker swimmers would have a hard time getting to it. But the water was calm and Jaina was confident.

Sylvanas nodded, “I see it,” she said slowly, unsure of what the human was getting at.

“First one there makes it there has to make breakfast this morning,” Jaina said, adding, “winner's choice.”

Slowly. Sylvanas moved into a crouch and began to carefully place her things in the bag. Her shoes, her shirt. She pressed the coin to her lips before placing it as well into the bag. “All right,” her voice was quiet, “but just so you know, I’ve been craving crepes.” That seemed to lighten the somber mood and they picked their way down to the water, minding their footing so as to not slip on the slick rocks. Sylvanas placed the pack on a rock and held her hand out to Shalindra, “stay. Watch,” she ordered, receiving a soft woof in reply as Shalindra settled down next to the bag. Jaina was already waiting at the water's edge. “Ready?”

“On three?” Jaina tilted her head.

“On three,” Sylvanas agreed. “Three.”

“Two.”

“One!”

They splashed into the water, trying to get out deep enough to swim. Jaina was sure that they had to look like a pair of uncoordinated herons until they hit deeper waters. Sylvanas dove down first, taking the lead. But Jaina wasn't far behind. Years of living in and around the ocean had made the water a part of her. Whatever training Sylvanas had was learned, while Jaina had been practically born with the sea breeze in her lungs and the ocean in her veins. Still, it was a close race and Jaina only just slapped a hand onto the rock before Sylvanas did.

She hauled herself up before shifting to help hoist Sylvanas up when she noticed how the elf seemed to struggle. Jaina said nothing about how one arm shook under her weight, or the grimace she wore, simply pulled her up before sprawling out on the rock, catching her breath. Jaina didn't know how long they laid there in comfortable silence watching as the sun continued its climb, casting the sky in red. “Red skies in morning, sailors take warning,” Jaina found herself saying.

Sylvanas snorted and glanced over at Jaina, “seriously?”

“What?” Jaina blinked in confusion when that snort rolled over into a laugh, “what's so funny?”

When her laughter died out Sylvanas took a breath and shook her head, “never thought I’d hear a scientist spout old Fisherman sayings.”

Jaina pouted, sitting up, “there is science behind it,” Jaina defended. “Not science in my field so I don't really understand it,” she admitted, “but science nonetheless.”

Sylvanas shook her head, “I would rather take the word of someone whose field it actually is than an old saying.” She glanced at Jaina out of the corner of her eye, “no offence.”

“None taken,” Jaina assured her, “I’d rather be a biologist with old sayings than a meteorologist everyone blames for bad weather.” That drew another laugh from Sylvanas and Jaina felt her heart swell. She laughed easier, now. It was a fact that filled Jaina with pride.

When she noticed that the other woman had begun to shiver, Jaina inched back towards that water, “come on, let's get back. I’m starving and you owe me breakfast.”

They only stayed on the beach long enough to dry enough to put their shoes back on. They jogged back to the house in comfortable silence, Jaina bumping against Sylvanas every so often as Shalindra ran circles around them. By the time they made it back, the sun had fully crested over the horizon and Jaina was starving. “French toast,” she announced as she walked through the front door, “that’s what you’ll make.” She paused at the door to her room, “and check the weather. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Jaina took her time getting dressed, brushing her hair until it was smooth again and braiding it. She only opened her door when Shalindra began to scratch at her door. She crouched down and ruffled her fur before making her towards the alluring smell of food. “Well? Was I right?”

“Calling for rain,” Sylvanas grumbled, tossing a few pieces of French toast onto each plate, “but nothing that sailors should take warning for.”

“But I was still right,” Jaina said smugly. She nudged Sylvanas aside to dig out the container of dog food. She mixed a scoop of the kibble with some plain cooked eggs that Sylvanas had set aside for Shalindra’s breakfast before taking her plate to the table. 

Looking over the sauces that Sylvanas had set out, Jaina frowned. “Seriously? No maple?” She asked. 

Sylvanas barked out a dry laugh, “you really think I can afford those import fees?” She shook her head, “you’re going to have to lower your standards, Little Acara.”

With no small amount of exaggerated disgust, Jaina picked up the bottle of table syrup and squeezed out a much smaller amount than she normally would have used. Subpar syrup aside, the toast was amazing. Warm and sweet, the perfect start to her day. She groaned and leaned back in her chair with a groan. A solid day of writing. “Any chance you’ll write my thesis for me?” She asked Sylvanas. 

“Unless you want that fancy thesis to be about all of the different ways you can kill a man with a strip of towel,” Sylvanas shrugged and by the smile she suddenly wore Jaina couldn’t decide if she was serious or not, “I don’t think you want me doing that for you.” She took the empty plates and took them to the sink, “besides, this is the first time I’ve had the time to go spearing since you bullied your way into my life.” She whirled at an excited gasp and pointed a fork at Jaina, “and no. I am not taking you with me. I refuse to spend another evening listening to you whine about how little you managed to get written or how little time you have left.” When Jaina started pouting, Sylvanas turned away resolutely, “get your damn work done, before I kick you out of my house.”

Accepting that this was not a battle she was going to win, Jaina collected her laptop and notebook and headed out to commandeer a portion of the porch to be her study for the day. She rotated around the porch throughout the day, following the shade while still keeping the ocean in her sight. She made great strides in her first draft, powering through despite her… minor distraction.

She could see Sylvanas as she swam about near her dock. Surfacing with mesh bag after mesh bag of fish. Her apparent skill with her spear was mesmerising and Jaina wished that she could be out on the water with her if only to watch her technique more closely. She snapped her attention back to her screen, nodding to herself. Her technique, yes. That was all Jaina wanted a closer look at.

By late afternoon, the wind had begun to pick up and clouds rolled in. Jaina had to retreat from the sudden chill, relocating to the living room. It was nearly two hours later when Sylvanas finally returned as the rain began to fall. She wrung the water from her hair, tossing her bike keys onto the table. “Had a good haul today so it will be fish tonight,” she stated, placing a couple of fish on the counter to prepare. “And I was able to swap a few for some fresh veg so we won't have to eat canned for a few days.”

“Is that how you do business around town?” Jaina asked, closing her laptop, “trades and bartering?”

“No,” Sylvanas said, pausing her prep, “well… yes but not always. It just works out a lot of the time. I’m not sure if you noticed how small the town is.”

“Fair enough,” Jaina concurred. She went to help Sylvanas prepare their dinner, carefully washing and slicing the vegetables. “Did you tie her up?”

Sylvanas sighed in exasperation, “all it's calling for is some heavy rain and maybe some lightning. But yes, I checked the knots and the mooring lines. She’ll be fine.”

Looking out at the rain, Jaina found herself skeptical.

____________

It wasn’t the heavy rainfall that woke Jaina up, nor the crashing roar of thunder or the flashes of lightning and howling wind. Jaina was woken up by something grabbing the leg of her pajama pants to pull her leg off her bed. Snatching her leg back, Jaina sat up to look down at Sharlindra, “what’s wrong girl? Scared of the storm?”

Sharlindra barked once before running out of her room. When Jaina didn’t follow, she returned to tug at Jaina's leg again, growling. 

“Alright,” Jaina freed her leg and followed the frantic dog. Save for the sound of the storm, the house was silent. “Sylvanas?” Jaina called out. She tried again and began to worry. When she saw the open front door she began to panic. Sylvanas must have been outside. 

Pushing Sharlindra with her foot to keep her inside, Jaina pulled the door closed and ran out into the pouring rain. Her bare feet slipped across the wet ground as she ran to the stairs that would take her down to the dock. She nearly fell down them, her shoulder and elbow screamed in protest when she grabbed the rain-slicked railing to stop her sudden rapid descent. 

Sylvanas was on the dock, fighting desperately with the mooring lines. They were too short, even in the relative darkness Jaina could see that. The  _ Banshee _ rose with every wave and the lines snapped taught, cause the poor boat to list dangerously to the side. The risk of it capsizing grew with every wave, the anchors holding the stern low, allowing yet more water to make its way below deck. There was nothing that could be done to save her from the dock. 

Through the near blinding sheets of rain, Sylvanas spotted Jaina. Her hands slipped on the rope she was holding as she cried out, “get your ass back inside! It’s too dangerous out here!”

Jaina ignored her. She stood at the edge of the dock, watching the  _ Banshee  _ rise and fall in the water. She waited. She had one shot. Jaina shifted her footing, getting the best grip she could. 

Rise and fall. Rise and fall. Rise and —

Jaina broke into a sprint across the dock, slipping only once. Just as the boat began to fall back down with the waves, she jumped, clearing the side and sliding across the deck as she was further soaked by the cascade of water that crested over her. 

“JAINA!”

She could hear Sylvanas scream her name, but it sounded so distant. Easy to ignore. So she did. Jaina forced herself to her feet and rode the waves as she edged her way to the stern and the anchor line, bending her knees with every rise. After giving both anchors more slack, Jaina scrambled to get below deck. She threw open the trunk at the bottom of the stairs and pulled out two tight coils of rope, longer than the current mooring lines with a weighted buoy attached to the end of each. 

She did fall when she got back topside, sliding to the side faster than she could get her bearing. The back of her head collided with the side and Jaina let out a cry of pain as stars danced on her eyes. She tried not to let it slow her down but she still crawled across the deck. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, Jaina tied the first length of rope to the cleat closest to her, tying it over the existing line. “Sylvanas!” She shouted, getting her attention before hurling the buoy towards her. She peered through the rain, watching to make sure Sylvanas got the rope secured before repeating the process. 

Sylvanas came tumbling over the side not long after, racing to cut the shorter lines. The  _ Banshee _ stopped rocking as violently almost instantly once it had the slack needed to ride out the waves. Jaina was getting to her feet when Sylvanas grabbed the back of her shirt and all but dragged her below deck, closing the doors with a clatter. 

“You idiot! You absolute fucking idiot!” Sylvanas shouted, grabbing Jaina's arms. Her ears were pinned flat against her skull and her eyes were wild. “Do you have any idea how stupid that was? Do you have ANY idea how scared I was? I don’t even want to think about what Vereesa would do— what  _ I _ would do if anything had happened to you, Jaina.” She wrapped her arms around the taller woman in a crushing hug, burying her face in Jaina's shoulder. “Don’t you ever do that again! Do you hear me? Ever!” She released Jaina only to cup her face and bring their foreheads together. She spoke again, so quiet that Jaina could hardly hear her over the storm outside, but she did hear her, “I don't need your blood on my hands, too.”

Jaina placed her hands over Sylvanas’, “You don't. I’m fine, you're fine, your boat is fine. Shalindra—,”

“Where is she?”

“Shh,” Jaina soothed gently, pulling the shivering elf close, “I shut her up inside the house. The dog that is definitely not your dog is safe.” That drew a relieved sigh and a small laugh from Sylvanas. Out of the wind and rain, Jaina felt the deep chill through her soaked clothes. She pulled off her shirt, wringing it out as best she could before giving up and hanging it next to the bunks, thankful for the dark of the cabin, her pajama pants quickly followed. Keeping her back to Sylvanas, Jaina climbed into the bunk. She kept the blanket open, hoping that Sylvanas couldn't see how red she was. When Sylvanas hesitated, Jaina patted the spot next to her, “come on, you’ll freeze to death.”

Sylvanas followed after Jaina slowly. She laid on the very edge of the bed before Jaina pulled her close to her body. Already she felt warmer and Sylvanas allowed herself to relax, melting into Jaina, tucking her head under Jaina's chin. “Go ahead, say ‘I told you so’,” she mumbled sleepily.

Jaina found herself wrapping her arms around Sylvanas, pulling the smaller woman closer. “After the adventure we just had? You really think I would?” She waited as Sylvanas was lulled to sleep by the rocking of the boat, “but I did tell you so.”


	9. Chapter 9

Jaina woke in the morning to the sound of water gently lapping against the  _ Banshee's _ hull and the crying of seabirds. Sylvanas had slept fitfully, waking up every few hours as the storm passed. Each time Jaina would pull her closer, awoken herself by the elf’s panicked movements, and murmured comforting words until she was calm and sleeping once more. Jaina hadn’t had time to really consider the implications of their current sleeping arrangement or the possible consequences. All she had thought about was making sure that Sylvanas was comfortable and that they were both safe and warm. But now, as thin rays of morning light filtered into the cabin, it was all Jaina could think about. 

They were both practically naked. A fact that Jaina was reminded of every time Sylvanas shifted in her sleep, her face pressed comfortably against the human's chest. She seemed so comfortable and Jaina couldn’t help but notice how they just seemed to fit together. A dangerous line of thought. Sylvanas was her friend, and they had only  _ just _ got to that point. The last thing Jaina wanted to do was ruin that budding friendship by reading too much into things. Acting on her feelings had not, historically, gone well for Jaina and Sylvanas was nothing like the men she had dated in the past.

Sylvanas’ whole life, here on the island at least, seemed to be an open wound and Jaina wasn't sure that she could help with that wound. Still, she found herself wrapping her arms around her just a little tighter, not wanting to let her go. She wanted to selfishly savour this fleeting moment in the early hours. As she did, Jaina marveled at just how small Sylvanas seemed in her arms. Her fingers spread out over Sylvanas’ shoulder and she frowned. Where the rest of her back was all smooth, toned skin, her shoulder was tight and almost bumpy. Jaina could trail her fingers along those bumps, trace them from the top of her shoulder to the middle of her back. A scar? Several scars? They piqued her curiosity but she knew that any questions about them would probably serve to only anger the elf. Still, Jaina filed the discovery away and allowed her fingers to drift away from the scars to rest on the small of her back.

She could have spent the whole day in this little world, the gentle rocking of the ship lulling her back to sleep. But fate had other plans.

“Jaina!” Sammy cried from somewhere on the shore, “Sylvanas!” 

Carefully as she could, Jaina eased herself up and over Sylvanas. She nearly fell to the floor in her attempt not to disturb her, but she managed not to. She was about to pull the blanket back up when she caught sight of Sylvanas’ back. There were indeed scars marring her back. They looked almost like burns, but not really. More like the skin there had been torn away. For a moment, she wondered how she had never seen them before, but as she looked she realized that the edges of the tanks Sylvanas normally wore covered them, just barely. Jaina pulled the blanket up before she could give in to the sudden urge to touch them again and turned away to put her pajamas back on. 

They weren’t dry, not even close. Her pants and shirt clung to her uncomfortably and Jaina found herself grabbing the blanket from the top bunk to wrap around herself self consciously. Shivering slightly, Jaina climbed the short steps and shouldered open the door to step up onto the deck. 

From the deck of the  _ Banshee _ , Jaina could see up to Sylvanas’ home but not the windmill. It must have fallen down in the storm. Sammy called out again, his calls accompanied by Sharlindra’s barking. “Sammy!” Jaina called back, leaning over the side to get a better view of the stairs, “Sammy, we’re down here!”

Sammy nearly fell down the stairs when Sharlindra pushed past him to get down the stairs. Sammy came to a stop on the dock, staring at Jaina with a mixture of surprised amazement and horror. “The hell are you doing there, Jaina?” He looked at the lines, mentally measuring out the distance between the dock and the boat. “You didn’t…” he frowned hard, “you didn’t ride out that storm on her boat did you?” The orc let out a sound of dismay when Jaina's only response was to shrug one shoulder like it was nothing, “are you insane? Did you not see how bad that was? I mean of course you did, you made it onto her boat and— how did you even manage that?”

“I jumped,” Jaina said simply. 

“You… jumped?”

Jaina nodded, “someone had to be on board so that we could save the old girl. I just happened to make the jump faster than Sylvanas.”

Sammy shook his head in disbelief, “insane. Totally insane, that’s what you are. Where is Windrunner anyways? She deserves this judgment as much as you do.”

As if summoned by her name, Sylvanas stumbled up the steps. Panic flared in her eyes, Jaina's name dying on her lips when her eyes landed on the human. She moved closer, reaching out to Jaina before letting her arms fall back to her sides. “You’re okay,” she breathed. “I woke up and you weren’t there and I thought—,”

“I’m fine,” Jaina cut her off, not unkindly. She tucked some of Sylvanas’ sleep-mussed hair out of her face without any real thought. “I didn’t want to wake you. You had a pretty rough night.”

“As if you didn’t.”

“Do you two need some alone time?” Sammy asked, smirking around his tusks. His smirk only broadened when the two women all but jumped apart, “because I can go and help with the cleanup and come back for you later if you need.”

“Cleanup?” Sylvanas stood straighter, ears perking up, “what cleanup?”

“‘Round town,” Sammy supplied, “storm did quite a number on it, must of it's got no power. Even the resort took a beating, lots of downed lines all over the place. Took me an extra hour to get here pretty much.”

“Is everyone okay?” Jaina asked, grabbing one of the lines to start pulling the  _ Banshee _ closer to the dock. 

“From what I heard when I passed through town a couple of people were hurt, nothing too serious and my uncle lost more than a few chickens,” he replied, mimicking Jaina's actions until the  _ Banshee _ was a safe enough distance to the dock for Sylvanas to hop down.

When Jaina followed shortly after, she stumbled before Sylvanas caught her arm to pull her back upright. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “Can you wait for us to get dressed and give us a ride into town?” Jaina asked, not even bothering to ask Sylvanas if she planned on helping out with the cleanup, she already knew that she would.

Sammy nodded, “yeah, sure.” He knelt down to ruffle Sharlindra’s fur, his massive hand covering the entire dog's head, “I’ll get this pup some breakfast while you do. You still keep her food in the same place?”

Sylvanas nodded, walking past him. She stopped to make sure Jaina was following her before taking the steps two at a time. 

“Sylvanas,” Jaina said as they entered the house, “about last night,” she shuffled her feet, fixing her eyes on the ceiling, “I hope it doesn't—,”

“Thank you,” Sylvanas said briskly. She looked like she had more to say, but what that would have been Jaina didn’t know. Without another word, Sylvanas retreated to her bedroom, closing the door with a touch more force than needed.

Jaina flinched at the act, making her way to her own room. “Fuck,” Jaina sighed, sitting down on her bed. She ground the heels of her hands into her eyes before flopping back, “fuck.”

It took Jaina far too long to tame her hair enough to be able to braid it so that it would be controlled and out of her way. By the time she was dressed and ready, Sylvanas was already outside, loading things into the back of Sammy’s jeep. A pair of small generators, a large toolbox, several first aid kits. Jaina marveled at just how prepared Sylvanas was to help out. She wondered if Sylvanas had been like this before as well, or if her willingness to go out of her way to help others was a byproduct of whatever it was that had happened.

_ “I don't need your blood on my hands, too.” _

Those words weighed heavily on Jaina as she helped load the rest of Sylvanas’ emergency supplies into the jeep. Their weight didn't let up as they slowly made their way down the short road to town. Just what had happened?

“You plan on sitting in the jeep all day, Jaina?” Sylvanas snapped, drawing Jaina out of her thoughts, “or are you actually going to get out and help?”

Jaina was about to snap back at the elf when her mind caught up with what Sylvanas had said, “you called me ‘Jaina’.” Her brow furrowed, “you said it earlier, too.”

Sylvanas looked away, her ears flicking back, “I also called you an absolute idiot, so don't let it go to your head.” 

“Seriously,” Sammy stuck his head out from behind the jeep to look at them, “if you two need some alone time we can handle things here.”

“Piss off, Sam’go,” Sylvanas hissed, snatching the toolkit from his hands. She stalked off towards one of the damaged houses.

Jaina watched her go with a bemused look on her face. Sylvanas seemed to be hot and cold, more so than usual. A week ago, Jaina would have let her go, content to ignore her. A few days ago she would have been offended. But now? Jaina didn't know how to feel now.

She picked out one of the first aid kits and made her way down another street. It really was a small town, more of a village, really. She looked at it as if seeing it for the first time. Everyone seemed to know everyone else and they all came together to help. She watched as the group of children from the beach made their way down the street with a wagon loaded up with bottles of water, Ardan close behind them. The merchant Sylvanas always sold her fish to was helping a family remove a fallen tree from their roof.

She felt very much like she didn't belong. Like she was intruding on their space. Their home. It was a ridiculous thought, and Jaina tried to push it aside as she bandaged a man's ankle. But, it wasn't, not really. She was only here for her research and once she was done, she would leave while they all stayed here and carried on with their lives as if she hadn't ever been there at all. And Sylvanas would--

Would what? Would Sylvanas miss her when she had to leave? Would they stay in contact? Or would she just go back to her house on the cliff with her lionfish and her dog and be glad to be rid of the ‘ _ Little Acara _ ’? That thought caused Jaina's heart to ache in a way that she had never felt before.

She didn't really have time to think about it as a commotion started up from the town square. When Jaina got there, she saw that two large trucks had been parked just on the edge of the square, Nazjatar’s logo emblazoned on the doors. An elegantly tall elf in a crisp suit, flanked by two others, was all but sneering at a troll, who was flanked by Sylvanas and Komu, that Jaina had never met before. Jaina watched as the elf brushed the troll's hand away from his chest before pushing up his dark sunglasses, their lenses darker in comparison to his pale blue skin.

“See reason, Mister Mayor,” the elf drawled, “I simply come bearing assistance from Azshara herself. I do believe the words you are looking for are, ‘ _ thank you, Tulmax. We are ever so grateful for her Lady's help.’ _ Honestly, you are all quite rude out here in the boons.”

“You will get no thanks from us,” the Mayor all but growled, “this town was able to take care of itself before your lady showed up and we’ll take care of ourselves long after her damned company crumbles into the sea.”

Tulmax took in a sharp breath through his nose, “you insult her! The very woman who keeps this island afloat.”

“It's an island,” Sylvanas sneered, “it keeps itself afloat. It didn’t need you before and it sure as hell doesn't need you now.”

His mouth puckered like he had just swallowed an entire bag of lemons, “still as insufferable as the day you arrived, I see, Windrunner.” He ran a hand through his ivory-white hair, as if that would be enough to relax him. “I would have thought you would have grown bored of this little place, what with your background. Still trying to make your place here?”

Jaina watched Sylvanas go very still. She frowned as she stalked her way towards the group. She placed a hand on the small of Sylvanas’ back, as if to reassure her that she wasn't alone. “She has more of a place here than you do, Parasite.”

That drew Tulmax’s attention to Jaina and he tilted his head as he regarded her like one would regard a particular interesting insect, pulling off his sunglasses to look at her with eyes of burning amber. “You,” he began, “must be the pesky little human Ashvane was raging about. Curious.” He stood straighter and snapped his fingers, “we ask for nothing from your little town. We’ll leave these supplies as a gift, no strings attached.” Even before he finished speaking the two accompanying him began unloading the trucks. “We’ll be in touch,” Tulmax said. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of Jaina the entire time his colleagues worked.

Jaina felt drilled in place by his piercing stare. The town was moving around her and yet she still stood there. She didn't move until she felt Sylvanas’ hand fall on her shoulder. “I think they have a handle on things here now, let's head back,” Sylvanas said evenly. “You have quite the habit of sticking your nose in Nazjatar's business, Jaina,” Sylvanas said once her house was in view, “it’s admirable,” she glanced at Jaina, “but rather stupid. They won’t leave you alone now, trust me.”

Jaina stared at Sylvanas for a long moment. Her words from the night rang loudly in Jaina's head and she could stop herself from asking, “were you on one of the cleanup crews?” She shouldn’t have asked, Jaina knew that as soon as Sylvanas entered the house without another word. She had to jog to catch up and when she did it was to find Sylvanas sitting tensely on the couch, the photo held in her hands. 

“They were more prepared than our intel had known,” Sylvanas said, shifting closer to Jaina when she sat down, making them sit with their legs flush. “The bay was clear and we had just got in the water when—,” 

A shuddering breath left Sylvanas and Jaina took Sylvanas’ hand in hers, shifting so that she could look the elf in the eyes. “Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything. I shouldn’t have asked.” She blinked when Sylvanas pulled her down into a hug. Jaina went very still before slowly wrapping her arms around Sylvanas. “So… change of subject, since you didn't let me finish earlier, last night didn’t… didn’t change anything between us, did it?” 

It was only later that night, while Jaina lay alone in her bed, that she realized why Sylvanas’ short, quiet reply of, “yeah, we're good,” had hurt her so much. She had wanted things to change. For the better of course, but she hadn’t wanted that change all the same. She had wanted so badly for Sylvanas to tell her that her heart was as set on Jaina’s as Jaina’s was on her. But she hadn’t. She had removed herself from the couch and gone outside to see to the repairs on the windmill while Jaina sat inside alone. 

She wanted to  _ be  _ with Sylvanas, that was clear to Jaina now. It hurt her to think about leaving almost as much as nothing that, while she  _ really  _ liked Sylvanas, in a way that she never had liked anyone before, it was one-sided. But they were still friends, at least, and that would have to be enough. 


	10. Chapter 10

Jaina swam aimlessly around the wreck Sylvanas had taken her out to. It was to be her last dive, not that she needed it. She had collected more than enough evidence to prove her hypothesis and her thesis was well on the way to being written. But she just couldn't bring herself to actually sit down and concentrate on her writing. Her thoughts would drift so often that she hardly thought of her thesis at all. But down here, among the fish and wreckage, Jaina had the space and time to sort through her muddled thoughts.

She wouldn't say that Sylvanas had been distant, at least no more than usual, but something had shifted between them. Sylvanas had shut down, taking steps back. She took her morning runs alone, leaving before Jaina had even woken up, and she always looked terrible when she came back. Jaina suspected that she had been going harder on herself. They rarely ate meals together anymore and while Jaina tried desperately to tell herself that she didn't care, that this was just one less distraction keeping her from writing…

She did care. She cared so much. It was something that Jaina was very good at, in her mind. But that care had been tearing at her heart as fiercely as a starving shark. The thought that she had pushed Sylvanas away shouldn’t have bothered her, but it did. It should have felt freeing but, it didn't. If Sylvanas didn't want her around, Jaina wouldn't have such a hard time leaving her when her time was up on the island, when she returned to California. But the longer she stayed, the less she wanted to leave.

So, Jaina had jumped at the opportunity to take another dive when Sylvanas had suggested it. At the chance to spend even a bit of time with the elf. It was a lovely wreck, as far as shipwrecks went. The coral growth wasn't as dramatic as some of the other wrecks, but the fish that gathered around it were varied enough to keep her interest. Mostly. She had turned on her camera but she wasn't paying at much attention to what she was filming. She chose instead to simply circle the wreck, trailing her hand over the hull.

Her mind had wandered away from her and so she was startled when Senni bumped into her side. Jaina looked around for any possible danger before checking her dive watch. She was running out of time. Slowly and with no small amount of reluctance, Jaina began to ascend. It wasn't all bad. It gave her time to think and plan. She knew that she couldn't leave without knowing where she and Sylvanas stood. Without clearing the air between them. Jaina would climb onto that boat and lay it all out. Tell Sylvanas exactly how she felt, and, if it went badly, she would tuck her tail and go and spend the remainder of her time with Nola.

Like an adult.

She breached the surface and began to swim towards Sylvanas’ boat with a look of firm determination. She pulled herself up and over the side and frowned. Sylvanas had not come to help her like she usually did and Jaina huffed out a sigh of annoyance as she hoisted Senni up onto the deck next to her. “Thanks for the hand, Sylvanas,” she grumbled, pulling off her gear.

“Sorry,” Sylvanas didn't sound at all sorry. “Do you mind if I took up further out?” She asked quietly as she wandered over to help Jaina pack the gear away, “there's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight and I wanted to watch it.”

Any harsh words Jaina had died on her tongue. “You want to watch a meteor shower?” Jaina asked, a bit shocked.

Sylvanas’ ears flicked back and she went back to the wheel, “sorry. I’ll take us back in. The view will be fine from my dock.”

“Wait!” Jaina placed her hand on Sylvanas’ bicep to turn her around, “I would love to see the shower from the ocean.”

Visibly relaxing, Sylvanas nodded, “good. Good that's--,”

“Good,” Jaina agreed with a nod before disappearing below deck to get changed.

It had already been fairly late in the afternoon when they set out and by the time they had stopped and dropped the anchors the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. Jaina had taken up a comfortable position at the stern, going over her notes on her tablet, content to get some work down while they waited. She blinked in confusion when Sylvanas settled down heavily next to her, leaning against Jaina slightly.

She fiddled with a length of rope for a moment before handing it to Jaina, taking out another from her pocket to begin tying knots. “I’m sorry,” Sylvanas said quietly, “I’ve been a jerk this past week, and you don't deserve that.” She fell silent again, but when Jaina didn't add anything she carried on, “I just… I’m not sure if you've noticed but I have a hard time letting people in.”

“Really? And here I thought you were an open book,” Jaina quipped, nudging Sylvanas gently.

“Bitch,” Sylvanas grumbled, but with none of her usual bite. “Even Vereesa, at least… now that is. But we used to be so close. Me and the whole family were close. But when I came home, they all expected me to still be me,” she abandoned her knot in favour of running a hand along her tattered ear, “but I wasn't. They didn't know how to help me, so my parents tried to send me to a therapist.” 

She bared her fangs at the memory, “I fucking hated him,” Sylvanas snarled, “he was all pity and empty words. They all thought that telling some stranger all my ills would help me. I just got angry. And then they got angry. Me and my dad fought all the time, and then me and Alleria, we actually fought. I lost. That really didn't help me at all and I just couldn't stay any longer.”

“So you ran off to the island?” Jaina asked, carefully easily Sylvanas’ hold on her ear. “So, why are you telling me this?”

Sylvanas shrugged, “you don't treat me like any of them did. I’ve been horrible to you but you still… you’re still here, with me. Maybe it's just because you didn’t know me, or you aren't being paid to try and know me. Maybe I just want to finally come to terms with what happened.”

“Okay,” Jaina said, swallowing the lump in her throat. “What happened?”

She expected Sylvanas to snap back, to put her walls back up and storm back to the wheel. Jaina didn't expect the elf to actually answer her. “We were the cleanup team,” she glanced at Jaina, “my platoon was part of SEAL team four.”

“You were a SEAL!” Jaina exclaimed. She could have smacked herself figuring it out.

“Yeah,” Sylvanas let out a small humourless laugh, “I was a SEAL. We weren’t supposed to enter combat on that mission. Get in, get their leader, get out. It was supposed to be quick and clean. But like I said, they were better prepared than our intel had known. They waited till we were under before dowsing the bay and setting it on fire. I led us down, there was a small cave that we had scoped out and that’s where we went. But it was a maze. A tight one. We all got turned around and in that darkness I lost sight of all of them.”

“How did you make it out?” Jaina asked in a soft voice, her hand finding Sylvanas’ to squeeze it gently. 

“Octopus,” Sylvanas managed a smile at the disbelieving look Jaina gave us, “I saw one and, well I was going to drown anyways, so I thought, fuck it, and followed it through the cave. But I’m not as malleable as an octopus and I got wedged in the exit. Like really wedged, I couldn't move at all.” She rotated her shoulder, “I wedged myself in tight enough and with enough force that I crushed a nerve in my arm. I don't really remember how I got out. Someone must have ripped me out, tore right through my suit. No one else made it out, and because of where they died… even after the threat had been dealt with it was too dangerous to recover their bodies.”

“So you couldn't even mourn them,” Jaina finished for her.

Something in Jaina's voice seemed to set Sylvanas off as she turned her head to snap at Jaina, “I didn't tell you that for you to pity me!”

Jaina squeezed her hand tighter, rubbing her thumb over her knuckles, “I’m not giving you pity, Sylvanas. I would never pity you. If anything I think you are incredibly brave.”

Sylvanas snorted, “for outliving my squad?”

“For telling me all of that,” Jaina corrected her softly, “for trusting me with that knowledge. That was--,” It took Jaina’s brain a moment to catch up with what had happened. Sylvanas had twisted, using their twinned hands to pull Jaina flush against her. She didn't fully realize that Sylvanas had kissed her until the elf was pulling away. Jaina blinked, shocked and confused. But Sylvanas’ was moving away and Jaina had to rush to catch her, tugging her back down into a second kiss. Her lips were rough and Jaina had the tiniest thought in the back of her mind to get her some lip balm before she was being laid down on the deck, and Jaina stopped trying to hold onto her thoughts at all.

___________________________________________________________________________

Jaina tucked her head against Sylvanas’ shoulder, trailing kisses across her bare skin. Sylvanas had gone below to fetch them a blanket to lay on while Jaina stretched out, sighing at the pleasant warmth that filled her. “Do you sleep with all the women who you take out into the middle of the ocean to regale with your tragic backstory?” her voice held a faint scratch to it.

Sylvanas poked her side in response, “don't be an ass,” she scolded, “that's my job. But to answer your question, no. I usually do that back on the dock.” She squirmed away when Jaina returned her playful jab. She relaxed back into Jaina’s embrace, shifting onto her back to be able to see the sky as the shower started.

It was breathtaking, the way the sky lit up with thousands of burning tails streaking by. Jaina had seen meteor showers before, but never like this. This far out, there was no light pollution to tarnish the view. And what a view it was. Like nothing Jaina had ever seen. 

“So, do you feel better?” Jaina asked quietly.

“From the sex or the impromptu therapy session?” Sylvanas grinned.

Jaina blushed brilliantly, pushing herself up onto her elbows, “after talking to me. I’m sure the sex was just a nice cherry.”

Sylvanas chuckled, running the backs of her fingers across Jaina’s back. “Yeah,” Sylvanas nodded, “yeah I think I feel better. Thank you, for listening.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Jaina leaned close for a soft kiss.

They got dressed as the shower died out, stopping frequently to steal a kiss here and there. By the time they arrived back at the dock it was late and they were exhausted, almost to the point that tying up the  _ Banshee _ was nearly too much effort. Feet dragging, they made their way up the stairs and inside. 

Food was tossed into Sharlindra’s bowl with hardly a care before Jaina sluggishly made her way to her room. She froze when Sylvanas grabbed her arm. “What is it?” Jaina asked, turning so that she could see the elf in the dimly lit hallway. 

“It’s just,” Sylvanas pulled her towards her own bedroom, “we’ve already shared a bed before and we’ve already--,”

Jaina flushed and nodded, “I know. And it was fantastic.”

It was Sylvanas’ turn to flush, ducking her head as her ears slanted back, “it was wasn’t it? But, I’d like it to be more than just that, if you want. So,” she pulled once more on Jaina’s arm, and this time Jaina followed. Cloths were left on the floor in a heap and they bundled up under the blankets, holding each other close. 

The feeling of Sylvanas’ arms wrapped around her, holding her close, was one of the most comforting things Jaina had ever felt. But she knew that it was a dangerous thing for Jaina to want to get used to. Eventually, she would have to leave. But after her work had been submitted? After her graduation? She was beginning to feel the pull of the island and was sure that it would draw her back.


	11. Chapter 11

Jaina stood on the dock, her arms crossed over her stomach as she watched Sylvanas prepare the  _ Banshee _ to set off. “Why do you have to go again?” she asked, unable to hide the slight whine from her voice.

“I have to go to the main island every other month to fill out paperwork,” Sylvanas explained, “if I refuse to go then my funds will get frozen. It's a pain in the ass but,” she shrugged, “my hands are tied.”

Jainas frown only deepened, “you’ll be safe out there right? You checked the weather?”

Sylvanas rolled her eyes, “I’m never going to live that down, am I? Yes, Jaina, I checked the weather. Twice. They would have postponed the meeting if there was bad weather on the way.”

Jaina leaned as close to the boat as she could, smiling when Sylvanas struggled to reach down to kiss her. “Promise me that you’ll be safe?”

“Yes yes. Of course I will,” Sylvanas groaned, stepping back, “I’ll even bring you a souvenir.”

“Better not be a tacky seashell necklace.”

Sylvanas grinned, “well now I have to bring back the tackiest necklace I can find.” She stood back while Jaina untied the  _ Banshee _ , “I’ll be back in the morning, so try not to trash the place.”

“I can’t promise that,” Jaina said as the engines kicked in. She watched as the  _ Banshee _ pulled slowly away from the dock. She stayed there long after it had vanished from sight and sighed. She hadn't been prepared to be away from Sylvanas so soon, and it didn't matter how many times she told herself that it was just for the night, her heart still ached.

Seeing no sense in haunting the dock like a widow from ages past, Jaina trudged back up the stairs and into the house. It seemed dull and dreary without Sylvanas around, so she threw open all of the windows, letting the refreshing sea breeze into the home, freshening the air.

It was a chilly day, the wind carried with it the threat of the of summer's end. Jaina tried to ignore it, setting herself up out front. She lounged back in a lawn chair, her laptop perched on her legs. She had every intention of spending the entire day writing. The faster she got her work done, the more time she would have to spend with Sylvanas. 

She made a pretty good dent in it and had lost herself in her work when the car pulled up. It stopped a short distance from her, all sleek and black. When she noticed the Nazjatar emblem emblazoned in elegant silver on the door, Jaina stood up, setting her laptop down cautiously. Jaina scowled when the driver's door opened and Tulmax stepped out, straightening his suit. “Sylvanas isn’t here right now,” Jaina called with a frown, “you’ll have to come back to pester her another time.”

Tulmax gripped the door tighter before slamming it. He moved with purpose as he stepped to the rear door, opening it with far more consideration. Bowing his head he murmured to his passenger, “she’s here, Ma’am.” 

Jaina’s jaw dropped as one heeled foot stepped out, followed by an impossibly long leg in crisp ivory pants. The rest of the woman was captivating, Jaina couldn’t have torn her eyes away if she had wanted too, and despite herself, she didn’t want too. The woman was tall to the point that the heels were redundant and served to only accentuate her height. The jacket she wore was clearly tailored, if the way it hugged her body was any indication, and matched her pants. She ran her hands through her impossibly long white hair, pushing it out of her soft blue face and sighed softly. When her golden eyes landed on Jaina she smiled widely, her ears perking up. “So she is,” she drawled as she crossed the lawn to stand in front of Jaina, extending her hand in greeting, “you must be Miss Proudmoore. I’ve heard quite a bit about you. I am—,”

“Azshara,” Jaina said, taking her hand in her own for a firm shake, “I know who you are.”

“My reputation precedes me,” Azshara laughed lightly, “it is always nice to be able to skip over dull pleasantries. So with them out of the way, I have a proposition for you, Miss Proudmoore.”

Jaina frowned, crossing her arms, “a proposition? From you?”

Folding her hands together in front of herself, Azshara nodded, “yes. But let’s not talk business out here in the middle of nowhere. Come with me to my office. We can talk in civilized comfort.” She turned and strode back to the car, pausing when she realized that Jaina hadn’t followed her. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes glinting dangerously in the sun, “that was quite the exclusive offer I just extended to you, Miss Proudmoore. Very few people get a private meeting with me. I am a very busy woman and I  _ rarely _ ask something twice. Come on, be a dear and get in the car.”

Unstated as it was, the threat was clear. Jaina moved carefully to pick up her laptop. “Just,” she took a calming breath, “just let me put this away and I’ll be right back.” She considered calling Sylvanas or Sammy, anyone really, but realized that doing so would only make this worse. Straightening her back, Jaina went to the car, sliding in next to Azshara. The woman was far more intimidating up close and that only served to make Jaina increasingly nervous as they drove. 

Azshara seemed to pick up on this and she shifted in her seat to look at Jaina better. Her ears twitched back, the golden earrings she wore tinkling with the movement and smiled a fanged smile. Jaina knew it was meant to comfort but it only served to hammer home the point that she was just an acara trapped in the presence of a shark. “Relax, Miss Proudmoore,” Azshara said soothingly, “I don’t bite.” Jaina forced a smile and shifted closer to the door, staying there for the remainder of the drive. 

The Nazjatar Building was even gaudier up close. The sleek modernness of its tall sides and it's odd shape clashed terribly with the surrounding scenery. Jaina must have been staring up at it for too long as Azshara tapped her on the shoulder, “come along Miss Proudmoore, I promise the view is far more breathtaking from the top.” 

Jaina followed her through the wide-open lobby, skirting around a massive fountain and it's strange mermaid statue. Marble pillars lined the walls trimmed with golden filigree. At a glance, Jaina could tell that the space was set up to display an air of wealth and importance and she had to reluctantly admit that it did its job well. They passed the front desk to a row of elevators, stopping only for Azshara to swipe a keycard to open the door. Even the interior of the elevators were opulent to the point of excess. 

Despite the great height of the building, the elevator ride was over quickly. A fact that Jaina was both thankful for as well as cursed. As much as she hated elevators, she had been hoping to use the ride to be able to compose herself for whatever it was that Azshara had dragged her up here for. Stepping out, Jaina felt her breath leave her. She didn’t know what she had expected the woman’s office to look like, but it certainly wasn’t this. The black tiled floor had been polished to a near mirror finish that reflected the deep blue of the walls, causing a shimmering effect akin to the glare of the sun on a stormy sea. All around the walls were portraits of Azshara, interspersed with photos and awards. A bar was set off on one wall, but the space was dominated by her desk. Large heavy wood polished just as brilliantly as the floor. But it was the wall of floor-length windows that drew Jaina's attention.

“Magnificent, isn’t it?” Azshara asked as she came to stand next to Jaina, handing her a glass of wine, “the perfect view of the jewel of the empire that I have worked so hard to build.”

Jaina took in the view, trying to find the beauty that Azshara clearly expected her to see. Trees stretched out around them. From their height, Jaina could see the barren patches that marked out the smaller towns. But there, on the horizon, the resort. To her, it was a glaring mark on the otherwise picturesque landscape. She scowled, “only if you find that architectural mess of a hotel a jewel.” Azshara's perfect smile faulted for but a moment, almost faster than Jaina could see it. But she did. In that moment she was able to see behind the mask that Azshara wore and she felt strengthened. “I doubt you brought me all the way up here to look at the view,” Jaina said, placing her glass down on the desk, “so what do you want?”

“Right to business then,” Azshara chuckled slightly, pulling herself back into perfect composure. She perched herself on the edge of her desk, swirling her wine before taking a small sip. “Very well. You have access to something I do not, that makes you very valuable to me.”

“What could I possibly have that you don’t?”

“Windrunner’s ear,” Azshara purred. “Oh come now,” she grinned at Jaina’s shocked expression, “don't be shy, surely you have been informed that I have eyes and ears everywhere, that is no exaggeration. I own this island.”

“Not the village,” Jaina said evenly.

“Right you are,” the elf admitted, “not the village. The  _ pillars _ of that little commune are far too sturdy for their own good. They fail to see that I simply wish to help bring them all forward in the world.”

“For a profit.”

“But of course for a profit,” Azshara laughed, tilting her head back, “this world is ruled by money, it's just the way it is. If I made everything a charity case I would bleed myself dry. But lucky for me, the most stubborn of those pillars has developed quite the crack in it. You.”

Taking a measured step away Jaina asked, “what do you have against Sylvanas?”

Azshara rolled her eyes, “I have nothing against her. Quite the contrary, I rather admire her tenacity. It is quite desirable.” She let out a long sigh, “but has taken a rather strong stance against me. She has tried so hard to convince people of some rather heinous actions taken by me and mine. Hearsay, all of it. Defamation of character, you see, is not something I take lightly.”

“Arming Militants,” Jaina muttered, her brow furrowing.

Azshara waved her hand, as if brushing the accusation away, “she does so like to blame me for her misfortune. It was a terrible thing that happened down in South America, truly, but I had no hand in that mess. One of my associates had a manufacturing company down there and those brutes robbed them blind. I would hardly call that willfully arming militants, as you so put it.”

“Mess?” Jaina snapped, “people died! She could have died!”

“A terrible shame,” Azshara bemoaned, “but have I not done everything in my power to help the poor woman? Paid for her treatments, her therapies. Even settled out a hefty settlement to keep her comfortable.”

“Hush money,” Jaina spat.

Azshara sighed, sliding off the desk to approach Jaina. She bent and curled a finger under Jaina's chin to tilt her head up to meet her gaze. “Call it what you will, I have been supporting that woman for far too many years and what thanks do I get? She spits in my face at every opportunity.”

Jaina tried to back away but Azshara was faster, gripping Jainas chin harshly, her nails digging into her jaw, “what do you want from me?”

She smiled again and this close Jaina could clearly see that it didn't reach her eyes, “from you? Oh nothing too much, don't you fret. I simply want you to talk to her. Convince her to give up and do as she is told so that I can build a new deepwater dock for my ships on the edge of the land she stole from me. I have a perfect job set aside for her. And don't worry, your cooperation will be well rewarded. Power? Money? Whatever you want it's yours,” her smile widened, “ _ Jaina _ .”

At that, Jaina broke away, so suddenly that one of the woman's nails nicked her chin, drawing a thin line of blood, “I don't want anything from you! I would never want anything from you!” Her hands clenched into trembling fists, “you are the embodiment of  _ everything _ I despise! Everything I have fought against! You have nothing to offer me!” She turned on her heel and began to storm back to the elevator.

“Proudmoore Fishery Enterprises,” Azshara said absently, grinning when Jaina froze, “quite the lofty name. Strange that I had never heard of it before my dear Ashvane came here in quite a state. Which is curious, as I keep tabs on all of my potential competition.” Her heels clicked on the floor as she stalked up behind Jaina. “So I did a bit of digging and to my surprise, it didn't exist. But, lucky me, I did find a little fishery with a similar name being run out of Halifax. Small. Family-owned. Struggling.” She placed her hands on Jaina’s shoulders and leaned down to speak into her ear, “what would happen, I wonder, if a bigger fish moved in? If a corporate fishery set up shop just down the pier? Would they be able to stay afloat? I don't think so. I was able to dig up some of their finances and oh, what a shame, they truly are struggling.”

She tilted her head to rest her cheek against Jaina’s, “but they don't have to struggle, do they? A little investment can go a long way. All it takes is just a little cooperation.” She gave her shoulders a small squeeze before stepping back, “I’ll give you a while to think it over, but I have faith that you will see things my way. Tulmax will drive you back.” From a pocket inside of her jacket she pulled out a card, tucking it into Jaina's trembling hand, “I look forward to hearing from you.”

Jaina couldn't have escaped from the tower fast enough. She all but threw herself out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened and ran headlong through the lobby. Tears blurred her vision but she wouldn't let any of these monsters see them fall. The car door was slammed behind her and she curled up on the seat, willing the ride to be over.

Jaina stumbled out of the car when they finally arrived. For a long while she just stood there, willing herself not to cry until she heard someone call her name. She turned to see Sammy jogging up from the dock. “Sammy,” she breathed, meeting him halfway and throwing her arms around him in the tightest hug she could manage.

Sammy left out a breath and wrapped his arms around her, “I was worried. My uncle said he saw a Nazjatar car speed down from here and when I arrived you were gone and--,” he cut himself off at the sound of Jainas hitched breath. “You're okay, Jaina,” he kept his voice as soft as he could while Jaina shook with her sobs, “you’re okay.”

____________________________________________________________________________

Later that night after Sammy had made her a light meal, Jaina sat in the middle of the bed she now shared with Sylvanas, staring down at her phone. She felt exhausted as she scrolled through her contacts to call her dad. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest, pressing her phone against her ear. “Hey, Dad,” she said, her voice scratchy. 

“What wrong, Starlight?” Daelin asked, clearly hearing the distress in Jaina’s voice, “come on, tell your old man what happened.”

“Is the business doing well?” Jaina asked instead. 

“Been a bit slow, but nothing we can’t handle,” Daelin answered slowly, “we’ve had rough years before and we always get by. Why the sudden concern?”

Jaina swallowed hard, ignoring him again, “what if I had a way to make all your worries go away? What if… what if I could do something that would keep us afloat? Set you up with an easy way to get by? Some financial security.”

Daelin was quiet for a long while before finally saying, “Jaina, you’re a good lass. You care so much and I couldn’t ask for a better daughter. I am so proud of you and all you’ve done. But I need you to remember, I would never want you to do something that causes you this much distress. So whatever it is you have been offered, whatever way you have found, I’ll have none of it.”

“But Dad—.”

“No buts,” his voice was stern, “we have weathered every storm we have ever had to and I’ll be damned if I let my daughter go through with something that hurts her. You understand me?”

Jaina nodded, choking back a fresh sob, “yes Dad.”

“Now, I want you to go straight to bed,” Daelin ordered, “it sounds like you have had a hell of a day. So no staying up and studying the night away, you hear me?”

That drew a small laugh from Jaina, “aye-aye, captain.”

“That’s my girl,” Daelin chuckled, “you can call me in the morning if you still need to talk, alright?”

“Alright. I love you, Dad. Is Mum in?”

“You just missed her,” Daelin replied, “but I’ll give her your love too. Get some rest.”

“I will, thank you.”

“Anytime, Starlight,” Daelin said, “anytime.”


	12. Chapter 12

Jaina had been sitting on the edge of the dock all morning. She had listened to her father, she always did, and had gone straight to bed after hanging up. But that did not mean that she had actually managed to sleep. She had tossed and turned, worrying herself over a million different things. She felt a crushing weight on her shoulders that she just couldn't shake. After her meager three hours of sleep, Jaina had forced herself to eat a small breakfast before tugging a blanket off the bed to wait on the dock.

She wasn't alone in her waiting. Sharlindra had come to join her. It helped, just having the dog near, her big head resting in Jaina's lap. Jaina ran her fingers through her fur, scratching her ears. “What am I going to say to her?” Jaina asked, looking down into those deep soulful eyes, “no matter what I say, she's going to be furious.” She snorted a small laugh at the ‘wuff’ that Sharlindra answered her with. “She won't be mad at me,” Jaina clarified, “just… at the situation. I’m really in a hard spot here. I just hope that she doesn't decide to storm that damn tower.”

The sound of an engine in the distance had Jaina jumping to her feet. As the  _ Banshee _ came into sight, Jaina felt a small bit of that weight she had been feeling lift. With Sylvanas back, she wasn't alone. The blanket abandoned on the dock, Jaina hurried to get the mooring lines tied as quickly as Sylvanas could cast them to her. She only moved back far enough to give Sylvanas room to hope nimbly down onto the deck. Chewing on her lip, Jaina waited as patiently as she could while Sharlindra hopped around her excitedly in greeting. It was sweet to see how they interacted, the way that Sylvanas would rough-house with this dog, drawing playful growls from her.

It seemed like ages, to Jaina at least, before Sylvanas finally stepped away to pull Jaina in for a kiss. A kiss that Jaina was all too happy to return, if a little too enthusiastically. Sylvanas held Jaina's shoulders as she tilted her head back to break away from the kiss, drawing in a desperate breath of air. “I wasn't gone that long,” she said with a smirk. Sylvanas looked Jaina over, noting just how exhausted she looked, and frowned, “what's wrong? Did something happen?”

“No!” Jaina said, before looking away, “well yes but…” she placed her hand on top of Sylvanas’ rubbing her thumb over her knuckles, “can we not talk about it right now?” She asked quietly. “I want to enjoy your company for at least a few hours before I make you angry.”

At that, Sylvanas simply scowled more, “alright,” she said, keeping her tone as even as possible even as her ears flicked with her irritation. Sylvanas led the way up the stairs to the house, dumping her bag on the couch. “I need a shower,” she said, glancing over her shoulder to look at Jaina, “would you mind making me something to eat?”

Jaina nodded, “sure. What are you feeling?”

Sylvanas hummed in thought, “something light. Eggs?” With that request, she grabbed her towel and vanished into the washroom.

Eggs, Jaina could do that. She waited until she heard the shower start before she started cooking. But, eggs weren't the most filling meal on their own, so Jaina dug through the fridge for a bell pepper and some leftover ham. After beating a few eggs, she diced the pepper, setting the top and bottom aside as a snack for Sharlindra, and gave them a quick sautee, before setting them aside to pour in the beaten eggs. Once they were mostly cooked Jaina added back the peppers and ham before putting a lid on top. 

The eggs were cooked by the time Sylvanas walked out of the washroom, drying her hair with a towel. She eyed her breakfast with interest as she settled down at the table for Jaina to serve her. “This is a little more than some light eggs,” she commented dryly, tucking in with barely concealed enthusiasm.

Jaina tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “eggs on their own aren't much of a breakfast. So, frittata. Do you like it?” She snorted a laugh when Sylvanas’ response was to eat faster, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

When she was finished, Sylvanas leaned back in her seat to look at Jaina, “I need to take the  _ Banshee _ to get fueled up and looked over. Want to join me and piss me off outside of the comfort of our home?” She sat up straighter, her eyes narrowing at Jaina as if daring her to comment on what she had said. 

But Jaina held her tongue. Of course, she thought the same. She wasn’t exactly sure when she had started considering Sylvanas’ house her own home, but she had, and the fact that Sylvanas thought the same? It only tightened the knot of the rope keeping her bound to the island. Sylvanas was still staring at her, waiting for an answer and Jaina nodded, “yes. I think that would be best.”

It wasn't long before Jaina found herself huddled at the stern of the  _ Banshee _ while Sylvanas carefully pulled away from the dock. They only went out far, just far enough that they didn't run the risk of hitting away hidden rocks or decrepit corals. Staying so close to the shore was strange to Jaina, they always went out so far. But, she supposed it didn't make sense to leave sight of the island if they were making a fuel stop. They swung around the curve of the island, towards a launch ramp and a small series of docks with what looked like a garage just on the shore.

Sylvanas pulled them into the docks, cutting the engine to allow them to drift along to a spot. When they were slow enough, Jaina hopped to her feet and grabbed a line, jumping down onto the dock. She tied the line off quickly and gave it a hard pull, drawing the  _ Banshee _ closer before catching the second line that Sylvanas tossed her, tying that one off as well.

She followed Sylvanas to the garage, stepping inside and looking around. It was fairly empty. A pump and a couple of hoists dominated one side and a row of workbenches on the other. Sylvanas looked around and frowned deeply. “She should be here,” she grumbled to herself, fishing out her phone, “why am I the only person ever on time around here?” The tension in her shoulders lessened slightly as the feeling of Jaina rubbing the small of her back. She took in a breath and let it out slowly through her nose, “she's probably out in the yard.”

“Who?” Jaina asked, keeping her hand where it was as they walked.

“My mechanic,” Sylvanas explained.

“Mechanic?” Jaina repeated, “you don't strike me as the type to let someone else tend to your boat.”

Sylvanas nodded in agreement, “normally you'd be right. I tend to her myself mostly. But for a full once over? I’d rather pay someone who was trained to take care of that.” Her eyes honed in on a person working away on an overturned fishing boat. Her head bobbed to the music she was listening too, too loudly for her to hear Sylvanas and Jaina as they approached. With a roll of her eyes, Sylvanas grabbed the top of the headphones and pulled them off the girl's head, allowing the heavy bass to blare freely into the air. “Is this how you were taught to keep appointments, Eliza?” Sylvanas asked with a slight sneer to her voice.

The girl, Eliza, couldn't have been older than eighteen. Shorter than both Sylvanas and Jaina, but with broad shoulders and a hard face. She stuck her tongue out at Sylvanas, snatching her headphones back, “it was, actually. Good service is worth waiting for.”

“But it isn't smart to keep your best customers waiting,” Sylvanas shot back.

Eliza snorted at that, “Nola is a far better customer.” She turned her attention to Jaina, wiping her hands on her coveralls before extending one to her in greeting, “Eliza Wither. I run this place.”

“Jaina Proudmoore,” she replied, a bit taken aback, “you run this place?”

“It's her grandfather's yard,” Sylvanas corrected.

“Paps is too old to be doing most of the repairs,” Eliza said, “so, I’d say I run it, wouldn’t you Windrunner? Run it well enough that you let me take care of your baby.” With a self-satisfied smirk, Eliza held out her hand expectantly. Her smirk only grew when Sylvanas reluctantly handed over her keys, “just the simple service?”

“The usual, yeah,” Sylvanas agreed, her ears lowering, “can you have her ready for the end of the day?”

“Swing day this afternoon and she’ll be good to go,” Eliza treated Sylvanas to a mocking Salute before walking back towards the garage, twirling the keys around her finger.

“You let a kid take care of your boat?” Jaina asked as they made their way towards town. Jaina hadn't had much reason to come back, it was good to see that the repairs had finished and that everything was back in working order.

Sylvanas nodded, stuffing her hands in her pockets, “the kid has been working with her grandfather since before I got here. She knows her way around a ship and honestly, I wouldn't trust anyone else no matter how insufferable she is.” 

“You find  _ her _ insufferable?” Jaina said incredulously, “clearly you have never talked to yourself.”

Sylvanas bumped against Jaina with her shoulder, sending the human stumbling to the side. “Bitch,” she grumbled, though her faint smile betrayed her amusement. She led Jaina through the little market, grabbing them each a light lunch before walking to a small park. She sat down on a bench, pulling Jaina down next to her. They ate quietly, Sylvanas’ leg bounced anxiously. “So, it's been a few hours,” she said quietly, “and we’re fairly far from home. Do you want to piss me off here?”

Jaina looked down, “Azshara came by yesterday.”

Sylvanas stiffened next to her, her ears laying back flat against her skull, “what did she want with me this time?”

“Nothing,” Jaina swallowed hard, “she wanted to talk to me.” She chanced a glance at Sylvanas and flinched at the cold fury in her eyes. But she was silent so Jaina continued, “she uh, she wanted me to convince you to help her out. Said I was a weakness to you. A crack. She offered me so much.”

“And?”

Jaina knew what she was questioning and she shook her head quickly, “I would never! Sylvanas, please. I don't want anything from her and I would never try to take advantage of you. Please.” She took hold of Sylvanas’ hand, squeezing it tightly, letting go just as quickly when Sylvanas’ eyes did not soften but instead examined her intently. “Sylvanas?”

“She frightened you,” Sylvanas said quietly, her ears relaxing. She reached up and stroked her thumb across Jainas cheek, wiping away a stray tear, “but I don't think any of the fear has to do with me, does it?” She tilted her head, frowning deeply, “what did she do?”

Jaina leaned into the touch, finding a small measure of comfort in the warmth of her hand. “My dad,” she said quietly, “she threatened my dad and his business. She said that if I didn't sway you that she would run him out of business.” She let out a gasp when she was pulled into Sylvanas’ arms. Jaina let her head fall into the crook of her shoulder, fisting her hands into the back of Sylvanas’ shirt.

“I’m sorry,” Sylvanas said, doing her leveled best to keep her fury from her voice, “I’m so sorry that you had to deal with that. To be subjected to her. I know better than most what it's light to have to deal with her.”

“Your money,” Jaina said cautiously.

Sylvanas frowned, “of course she would bring that up.” She freed herself from Jainas grip and stood up, walking away from the bench, “my lifestyle is paid for with my silence,” she ground out, “can’t go to any media outlets, can’t speak in any cases against her. Monthly talks with her damn lawyers. She keeps me so tightly under her fucking thumb and now she is going after the one thing I have that has nothing to do with her!” She paced while she ranted and raved, her arms trembling. Finally, she threw her head back and screamed at the sky, “fuck!”

Jaina stood quickly to stand behind Sylvanas, wrapping her arms around her waist tightly. She shifted her weight from side to side, rocking Sylvanas until she calmed. “She said that she wanted to build a deep water dock,” Jaina said, “that she was going to do it regardless of what I did.”

“Of course she did,” Sylvanas said, her head falling forward in sudden exhaustion, “nearly everything she does is a show of power.”

“I won't give in,” Jaina said, “I will find some way to fight her and keep her from you and the town.”

“No,” Sylvanas said, pulling Jainas's hands away to thread their fingers together, “this isn't your battle, Jaina.” She knew that Jaina would protest so she turned in her arms to cup Jaina's face, “you came down here for a reason. You need to focus on your education. That should be your only priority.” She bumped their heads together, “and when you go back you can try and help your dad but you don't need to worry about what's happening here. We’ve been fighting her for years and we won't give up. You fight your battle, and we will fight ours.”

Sylvanas was right, Jaina knew that. She had come here for a reason, and she needed to fulfill that reason. But, after staying here? Living with Sylvanas? Jaina found herself thinking that it wasn't as important as it once was.


	13. Chapter 13

Jaina stared down at her computer screen with equal parts amazement and sorrow. After months of work, of research and writing and rewriting, she was finally finished. The culmination of years of study sat before her, saved five times over for fear of forgetting to save it, and all Jaina could bring herself to feel was a vast emptiness. She attached the hefty file to an email and fired it off to her editor before setting her laptop aside cautiously as if the machine might rear up and bite her. 

Sylvanas wandered over from the kitchen to flop down on the couch. She shifted until Jaina moved enough for Sylvanas to lay her head in Jaina's lap. “Finally finished?” She asked, smiling faintly as Jaina absently ran her fingers along her tattered ear. She had learned that Jaina preferred to toy with that one as opposed to her whole ear and found herself sitting in ways that allowed Jaina to do as she wished with her ear. 

“Yeah,” Jaina said quietly, “I just sent it off for review and…” she looked down at Sylvanas, her hand stilling against her ear, “and bought my ticket.” She shifted slightly, her fingers returning to Sylvanas’ ear, “I head back to Cali next week.”

Sylvanas sat up then, carefully taking Jaina's hand in hers, “so that means I get you all to myself for the next week?”

“Since when do you look on the bright side?” Jaina asked with a frown.

“Since I decided I didn't want to say goodbye.”

“I don't want to, either,” Jaina admitted quietly, “I don't want to go back. I want to stay here, with you.”

Sylvanas shook her head, turning so that she could nuzzle her face into Jainas stomach, “we’ve talked about this, you have to go. Your education is important and you need to be there to present your masterpiece.” She chuckled when Jaina gave her a light shove, wrapping her arms tightly around Jaina's waist to thwart her halfhearted attempt to push her off the couch. “Besides,” Sylvanas continued, “we’ll be able to handle whatever Azshara has planned for the village, so don't you worry.”

“It’s not the village I’m worried about,” Jaina grumbled. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the couch, “I’m more worried about us.”

“About us?” Sylvanas asked, pulling Jainas shirt up just enough to press soft kisses to her belly, “why would you be worried about us? She didn't threaten either of us directly, so there is nothing to be worried about.”

Jaina sighed, “you know what I mean. How will we be when I leave? You’ll be staying here and we’ll be so far away and you are just so wonderful and beautiful and--”

“Don’t sell yourself so short, Jaina,” Sylvanas said, finally sitting up, “any beauty I may have you have tenfold.” She smiled at the blush that coloured Jainas cheeks, causing her countless freckles to stand out all the more, “you think I’m going to leave you because you go a little far away from me?” she asked softly. 

At length, Jaina nodded, “yes.”

“Jaina,” Sylvanas moved to straddle Jainas lap so that she could look her in the eye, “you are the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time. I would be an idiot to leave you for something as small as a little distance.”

“It's more than a little distance,” Jaina argued.

“Perhaps,” Sylvanas agreed, “but I have time and disposable income. You would never be too far away.” She leaned in to give her a small kiss before smacking her shoulder none too gently and crawled off of her lap, “get up. We’re going into town.” 

Jaina slid down the couch, rubbing her shoulder, more for show than to push away any real pain, and groaned her protest, “Sylvanas, I just spent three days straight powering through to the end of my thesis, why do I have to go into town?”

“Because,” Sylvanas said slowly, taking Jainas hands and hauling her to her feet, “you just spent three days straight powering through to the end of your thesis, and we still need to return Senni. You need to get out of the house. Get some sun.” She grinned then and said, “get back into the sea before you dry out.”

Jaina groaned louder, spinning on her heel to go and get changed, “The first thing I’m doing when I get back is killing your sister.” She got dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of shorts and one of Sylvanas’ tank tops over her bathing suit before making her way outside whilst braiding her hair.

Sylvanas had managed to pull Senni’s case out of her work shed and had just placed it down after a moment of struggling with its weight. “I’ll get it, Sylv,” Jaina said. She hefted the case up and put it over her shoulder. When she saw the way that Sylvanas’ ear drooped, Jaina offered her a smile, rubbing her hand in gentle circles over her scared shoulder, “hey, it's alright.”

Sylvanas curled her arms slowly, moving her fingers to work out the numbness that Jaina knew had taken hold of her lover's arm. “It doesn't feel like it's alright. I feel pathetic.”

“Stop that,” Jaina said, her voice taking on a harsh tone, “I will not stand to listen to you beat yourself up.” She shifted the weight of the case to be more comfortable, “I am more than happy to carry any weight for you.”

Sylvanas narrowed her eyes before shaking her head fondly, “come on.”

It was a good day for a walk and Jaina found it easy to ignore the discomfort of the bag digging into her shoulder. She smiled at everyone they passed. Most of them greeted her cheerily, waving and calling out her name. She stumbled forward a step when one of the local kids bumped into her leg. “Careful there,” Jaina chuckled in stuttered French that had the other kids laughing. “It’s not that bad is it?” She asked Sylvanas. 

“Of course not,” Sylvanas said, her voice dripping with sweet sarcasm, “compared to when you got here you are practically a master at speaking French.” Jaina pouted until Sylvanas relented with a huffed laugh, pressing a kiss to the side of Jaina's mouth. “Your French is passable, Jaina. Don’t worry.”

Jaina was about to shoot something back when one of the children grabbed her hand and gave it a tug. Jaina floundered, trying and failing to pull-up the proper way to tell him that she didn’t have time to play but her mind was blank. She shot a panicked look to Sylvanas as her other hand was grabbed and they began to pull her down the road. “Sylvanas!” Jaina's voice cracked, “Sylvanas get over here and help me!” 

Sylvanas, in response, just laughed. It was a full boisterous laugh that Jaina normally would have loved. Instead of helping, she leaned down to whisper to one of the older children, baring her fangs in a grin. She ruffled the kid’s messy mop of hair before gently shoving her forward to lead the gang in their apparent abduction of Jaina. “Sorry,” Sylvanas said, “there are too many of them for me to take on. I guess we’ll just have to go with them.” She laughed more as Jaina stumbled to keep up with the energetic children that pulled her along.

They took a round-about way back towards a small beach that stretched out just on the edge of Sylvanas’ property. A long table had been laid out with food and drinks and a large bonfire was being set up further down the beach. It was swarming with activity. People from town were milling about the area, drinking and laughing while others swam to test themselves against the surf that rolled them back to the beach. 

Jaina stumbled forward when the kids gave her a shove and spun around to face Sylvanas, “what's going on?” Jaina asked, gripping the strap of the bag nervously.

“It's a party,” Sylvanas replied flatly, trying to keep herself from smiling, “did they stop having parties in California since I left?”

“Did they-- I know it's a party Sylvanas,” Jaina said through clenched teeth, “why is there a party?”

Before Sylvanas could answer, Sammy made himself known, "Sylvanas! Jaina!" He broke from the crowd and all but ran over to the pair to lift Jaina up, pulling an undignified squeak from her. After Settling her so that she sat on her arm he called out, “our guest of honour has arrived!” A cheer rose up as Jaina was paraded over and deposited on the beach. 

Jaina was distantly aware that someone had taken the bag from her arm and a drink was being handed to her. She shrunk into herself nervously until Sylvanas came to her side. Jaina tucked herself into the comfort of the one-armed embrace that was offered to her and again, “why is there a party?”

“It's a welcome party,” Sylvanas said, “for you.”

“For me,” Jaina repeated evenly, “a welcome party when I’m leaving? That seems rather ass-backward.”

“Maybe,” Sylvanas agreed, “but that's just how it is sometimes.”

“Why am I having a welcome party thrown for me?”

“You're one of us now,” it wasn't Syvanas that answered, but the mayor. He had to stoop down to shake Jaina’s hand, “Erik,” he introduced himself, “I have to thank you for getting our resident hermit to come out of her shell,” he laughed around his tusks, clearly overjoyed by his own joke. When he noticed how confused Jaina seemed he explained, “I’m not sure if you've noticed, but we are a very tight community. It isn't often that we get new residents so it really is cause for celebration,” he held up a hand to stop her protests, “I know, Miss Windrunner explained to me when I told her I planned this.” He offered her a kind smile, “think of this as an open invitation to come back anytime.” And then he was gone, back to mingling with his people.

Jaina turned and stared at Sylvanas, “this is--,”

“A lot,” Sylvanas finished for her, “believe me, I know. At least your party didn't come on the heels of outbidding Nazjatar.” She placed a hand on Jainas back and lead her further onto the beach, “come on, I know that Nola has been dying to talk to you about ocean stuff.”

Indeed, Nola had been all but dying to talk to Jaina about ‘ocean stuff’. She had Ardan pull two chairs over to the shore. She listened intently as Jaina talked overall she had discovered, that life she had seen in those wrecks, her hopes for her thesis and her future. Nola smiled up at her, nodding along. She patted Jaina's arm approvingly, “it is wonderful to listen to someone so young speak so passionately about the sciences. You give an old woman hope for the future.” She settled back in her chair, content to watch the party around her unfold, “what are your plans for after your graduate? For when you are Doctor Proudmoore?”

Jaina hadn't thought of that, and she certainly hadn't thought about the fact that if all went well she would, in fact, be Doctor Jaina Proudmoore. So that is what she said, “I don't know. I’ve been so focused on just getting through that I never stopped to think about what I would do after.”

Nola chuckled, “I thought as much. I have an offer for you. One that is not reliant on your doctorate.” When she was sure that she had Jainas full attention, she continued, “I’m old, Jaina. These old bones like to fight against me through everything, so I have been looking toward perhaps retiring. The problem is, I can't just leave my facility to fall into uselessness.”

“But that's your home. And what about those people that work with you?”

Nola waved her hand dismissively, “undergrads and the like, simply doing internships with me. And the whole building isn't home. The main building is my lab, I live in a smaller house just down the beach.” She shifted in her chair so that she could look at Jaina, “but that doesn't matter. I am in the market for an apprentice. Someone to take over and I think I have found the perfect candidate.”

It took Jaina an embarrassingly long time to realize what Nola was saying. She pointed to herself, “me?” Jaina asked, “you want to take me on?”

“Well, why not?” Nola smiled, “you are a brilliant young woman with a fire in your heart. I would be delighted to have you around my facility if you want to that is. And if everything goes tits up, I would still be happy to have you.” She laughed brightly, rising from her chair when she noticed Sylvanas standing off to the side. “It looks like your girlfriend is vying for your attention,” Nola gave Jaina a wink before wandering back towards the grass.

“I didn't tell her that,” Jaina said, trying to rub the blush from her cheeks.

Sylvanas tilted her head, her ears tilting, “is she wrong?”

Jaina shook her head stepping into Sylvanas’ arms, “no. No, I guess she isn't wrong.” She shimmied out of her shorts and after waiting for Sylvanas to follow suit, Jaina pulled her into the water. The water was cold which only made it more refreshing the deeper they went. Out they went until their feet could scarcely touch the sand. Jaina smiled softly trailing her hands under Sylvanas’ shirt, “I hadn't really thought about labels.”

“I have,” Sylvanas admitted softly, “I’ve thought about it a lot.” Her softness didn't last as she pulled away from Jaina to dive down swimming out deeper.

Jaina was left there dumbfounded before she dove down to follow. The water welcomed Jaina as if she belonged in its embrace. Once the sting had faded, she could faintly see Sylvanas not too far from her and she swam forward to join her. They stayed underwater for as long as Jaina could hold her breath before surfacing. They exchanged soft kisses before Jaina grabbed Sylvanas’ arm to pull her back towards shore to get some food.

The food was fantastic. Though whether that was because of the food itself or the company she was in, Jaina didn't know. All she knew was that she felt so welcomed, so ingrained in this community, that she was going to have an even harder time leaving than she already was.

But, as the sun was beginning to set, the joyous atmosphere was shattered by the arrival of several Nazjatar vans. Workers hopped out, pulling out a large sign and posts to mount it on. From the back of the van came Tulmax, a megaphone held in his hand. He held it up and said, “attention rabble, you are all trespassing on the property of the Nazjatar Corporation. Remove yourselves at once or you will be moved by force.”

“Like hell this is Nazjatar property!” Erik snapped, shouldering his way through the crowd, “this land belongs to the town and I would die before selling it to you.”

“Actually,” came the silky smooth voice of Azshara as she stepped out of the van, a bright smile stretching across her face, “this little beach, and much of this shoreline, was Federal property.” Her hips swayed as she walked forward, “your government was more than willing to sell it to me and once the deal goes through your little town will be home to my new deep water dock. It will be the perfect docking site for my cruise ships.”

“Then it isn't your land yet!” Jaina snapped coming to stand next to Erik with Sylvanas close behind her.

“Ah, Jaina,” Azshara sighed, “and here I thought you were a smart girl. How disappointing.”

Jaina grit her teeth, “I’m smart enough to know not to take anything you offer. You said yourself that the deal has not been finalized. This isn't your land.”

Azshara chuckled, “I suppose you have me there.” She raised her hand, gesturing to the people, “look around you. Do you honestly think any of these people could outbid me? This is something above even Windrunners paygrade. This battle was over before it even started, and the sooner you all accept that there is nothing to stop me from tearing this town off of the map, the sooner you can all be integrated into society propper.” She sighed dramatically, “but, I am not so unfair as to not give you a fighting chance. If, and that really is a big if, you manage to escape together the lofty money to outbid me, I will concede. The deal will be sealed in a month. Until then,” she snapped her fingers and her man fanned out, ushering the townsfolk off of the beach, “I would strongly recommend you stay away from my beach.”

She turned her attention back to Jaina and offered her a pitying smile, “you still don't have to drown with them, Jaina,” Azshara said, taking measured steps towards her, relishing the way Jaina tensed, “my more than generous offer is still open.” She extended her hand for Jaina to take only for Sylvanas to put herself between the two of them, smacking Azshara's hand aside.

“Don't you dare touch her again,” Sylvanas hissed, her ear flicked back as she bared her fangs. She didn't move until Azshara had retreated to her van. Sylvanas turned and pulled Jaina into her arms, holding her tightly. “You’re okay. She’s gone,” she soothed as Jaina sagged against her. Her eyes scanned the thinning crowd and, seeing that their help was no longer needed, she began to lead Jaina back home. “You were very brave,” Sylvanas said softly as they walked.

“I didn't feel very brave,” Jaina replied, leaning more into Sylvanas, “I just felt defeated.”

“There isn't any defeat if it isn't your fight.”

Sylvanas was right, Jaina knew this. It wasn't really her fight. But they had all welcomed her into their community so warmly that she found herself wishing desperately that it was.


	14. Chapter 14

Jaina hated this ferry dock. It was silly, she knew that, but she still did. The damned place was only good for her to say goodbye. Sylvanas had borrowed Nola’s truck, so at the very least Jaina could be glad that she didn't have to finish her journey to the airport alone. But that didn't mean that her farewells were any less difficult. A sniffle from her side had her shaking her head, a small smile playing across her lips. Jaina dug through her bag for a new tissue to hand to Sammy. “Honestly, You would think I was on my deathbed with the way you're going one,” Jaina teased, “I’ve never seen an orc cry so much.”

Sammy blew his nose loudly into the tissue, “I’m sensitive, alright?” he protested.

“I’ll keep in touch, promise,” Jaina assured Sammy before pulling him down into a hug.

“Jaina,” Sylvanas’ voice was soft, “the ferry will be leaving soon, we have to go.”

“Right, right,” She smiled up at Sammy, “take care.” She hurried back to Sylvanas and the truck, sitting on the bed. The island slowly shrunk from fair as they got further away. Jaina pulled her knees up to her chest, leaning against Sylvanas when she came back to join her. “I’m really going to miss this.”

Sylvanas forced a smile, “you’ll be back before you know it.”

“Maybe,” Jaina said, “but there is no telling when that will be… I really don't want to go.”

“I know,” Sylvanas wrapped her arm around Jaina tightly, “id be lying if I said I wasn't going to miss you. But this is important.”

“I know,” Jaina sighed and was quiet. She allowed herself to zone out, listening to the soothing sound of the water lapping against the sides of the ferry. Normally the sound would have given Jaina some amount of comfort. But not now. Now it just left her with a terrible feeling of finality, like this was to be the end of her simple cheery island life.

Which wasn't entirely wrong. With Azshara moving in, the entire island could drastically change by the time Jaina had a chance to return. Would the town even still be there, or would it be fully assimilated into Nazjatar? That would be the worst outcome that Jaina could think of. The town held so much life in it. It would be a shame to see it all washed away by the waves of corporate greed.

There had to be a way to save it. Jaina just had to think of it.

She had been so wrapped in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed how close they had gotten to the other dock until Sylvanas shook her gently. “Come on,” Sylvanas said, “we have to get back in the truck now.”

Reluctantly, Jaina followed her, climbing into the passenger seat. The reality of her final few hours on the island settled around her heavily and she reached out for Sylvanas’ hand. Anything to prolong their contact. They didn't say anything more, as they drove from the docks. No more words were needed. All to soon they would have to say their goodbyes and neither one of them was willing to face how quickly that time was approaching. So they remained quiet, simply enjoying each other's company. All too soon, the small airport loomed before them.

As they loaded Jaina's luggage onto a small trolly, Jaina said, “Nola offered me a job.”

Sylvanas paused for a moment before settling the last bag on the trolly. “Did she now?” she asked evenly. 

Jaina nodded, falling into step allied Sylvanas as the elf started walking. “She did,” she said, “said that… that if everything goes tits up—,”

“She did not say that,” Sylvanas snorted.

“She did! Those were her exact words,” Jaina found herself smiling, “that if everything goes tits up, if I don’t graduate, she would welcome me still as her apprentice.”

“Are you planning on failing, Jaina?”

“No,” Jaina shook her head, “what I’m saying is, I don’t have to graduate. I don’t have to leave.”

“No,” Sylvanas shook her head, walking faster, “I won’t let you throw away years of study just to stay with me.” She glanced towards Jaina, “I know you don’t want to go, but if you don’t you’ll regret it. We both know you will. Maybe not right away but years from now you’ll look back on the fact that you threw your education away and you will then.” With her piece said, Sylvanas continued to wheel the trolley through the doors. 

They had made a point to not arrive too early, to make saying goodbye just a little easier. That wasn't to say that is wasn't still difficult. Jaina clung to Sylvanas as tightly as she could when her boarding was called. She buried her face into Stlvanas’ shoulder, clinging tightly to her shirt. Sylvanas rubbed soothing circles onto Jainas back. “You need to let me go, Jaina,” Sylvanas said softly, “you’re going to miss your flight.”

Jaina shook her head, “I don't want to.” It took a while for Jaina to finally step back, rubbing the tears from her eyes. “You’ll call me, right?” she asked.

“Everyday,” Sylvanas promised, wiping a stray tear from her own cheek.

“Okay,” Jaina nodded, picking up her carryon, “okay. Okay, I’m ready to go.” She almost made it to the gate before she turned and ran back to Sylvanas. Jaina threw her arms around her neck, pulling her in for a kiss. She pulled Sylvanas’ lower lip between her teeth for a moment before pressing their foreheads together, “I’ll come back as soon as I can,” she promised earnestly as she finally turned and walked through the gate.

The flight back home wasn't terrible, Jaina had to admit. Even with the three-hour layover, Jaina managed to distract herself, reading through scientific journals she had fallen behind on. She spent most of her time on the planes asleep, it was easier that way. She had never been a fan of flying, especially when she had to fly alone. Vereesa had teased her, saying that being up in a plane took her too far away from the ocean. And if Jaina was being honest, that wasn't too far off from the truth. She had just always felt more comfortable balancing on the deck of a ship than she was strapped inside of a tube in the sky.

Regardless of the reason, Jaina was more than happy when her plane finally touched back down. Though it was bittersweet. It only helped to hammer home just how far away she was from Sylvanas now. Her heart ached but she pressed on through the airport with the knowledge that Sylvanas was right, she would have regretted not finishing school. Maybe she would have even grown to resent her. That didn't matter now, of course, as she waited tiredly by the luggage carousel.

“Jaina!”

Jaina barely had enough time to turn around to catch Vereesa as her friend launched herself towards her for a surprise hug. Jaina allowed herself a smile as she held her friend close, “hey, Vereesa. Miss me?”

“Of course I did!” Vereesa said taking a step back to look Jaina over. She smirked as she pinched Jainas cheek lightly, “all that time in the sun gave you more freckles.”

Jaina swatted her hand away, taking a step away, “god, you're as bad as Sylvanas.” She rubbed at her cheek in embarrassment, "there isn't more, they're just more visible.”

“Mhmm,” Vereesa hummed, stepping past Jaina to catch her bags before they passed them by. “Come on, Rhonins waiting in the car and there's a surprise waiting for you at home.” She linked her arm with Jaina and all but dragged her towards the exit.

Jaina gave Rhonin a one-armed hug through the open driver's window before climbing in the back with Vereesa. “So what's my surprise?”

Vereesa snorted, shaking her head, “if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise.” She shifted so that she could look right at Jaina, “what wouldn't ruin a surprise is if you told me what was going on between you and my sister.”

“Reesa,” Rhonin warned, wrapping his arm around the seat to pinch her knee.

Jaina laughed at her friend's yelp before putting her hand over Rhonins to stop him, “it’s alright, Rhonin. What's going on between me and Sylvanas is… complicated?” She clasped her hands together at Vereesa’s doubtful look, “okay, so it isn't that complicated. We’re dating, I guess you could say.” In the confines of the car, Jaina had no chance to fend off Vereesa’s sudden hug.

“That's great!” Vereesa chimed, “and I didn't even have to hook you up with her! I’m so proud!”

The rest of the ride went by in a blur of embarrassment for Jaina, with Vereesa teasing her relentlessly. She had let up by the time the modest home they all shared came into view. Jaina frowned in confusion when she saw a car she didn't recognize parked in the driveway. “You didn't rent out my room while I was away, right?” she asked.

“That's your surprise,” Rhonin said, only after he had parked, “why don't you head on in and see for yourself? Me and Vereesa will handle your bags.”

Still cautious, Jaina made her way inside. She walked slowly through the house, checking every room. “Hello?” she called from the doorway that led down to her basement suite. No reply. Steeling herself, Jaina made her way down the stairs. She made a point to step in every spot she knew to make a creak, announcing her approach. She flicked on the lights at the bottom and let out a gasp. “Mom? Dad?” she hurried over to them, throwing her arms out to hug them both as tight as she could. “What you doing here?”

“Cant parents drop by to see their only daughter just because they want to?” Daelin asked with a grin.

Katherine jabbed her elbow into his ribs, “we missed you, Sweetheart,” she said, tilting Jainas head down to press a kiss to her forehead, “it's been too long.”

“I was home at Christmas,” Jaina defended.

“Too long,” Katherine reiterated.

“Your mother is right,” Daelin said, “it's been too long.”

Jaina frowned, “but, shouldn't you be taking care of the business? What if Nazjatar tried to move in while you're gone? What if you being away gives them the opening they need--,”

“Jaina.”

“--to swoop in? What if when you go back the entire pier has been overrun? Or the other companies turn on you? Or--,”

“Jaina,” Daelin grabbed her shoulders to draw her attention back to him. He reached out and tucked a loose lock of air behind her ear, “they’ve already been trying.”

“They what?” Jaina’s heart sunk.

“Sweetheart,” Katherine said, “your father told me about your phone call so I know what you’re thinking now, though I’ll admit, I never would have guessed that this was what you were trying to stop. But this isn't your fault. And not one of those bullheaded fishermen would have been happy if you had given anything to assage those bottom feeder.”

“Me and the lads are already working on fighting them off of our pier,” Daelin added proudly, “we’ve already bought up two plots to run as joint operations. We aren't going down without a fight and we’ll bleed them dry before we do.”

Jaina clung to her father then, holding him tight while sobbed in relief. Once she had calmed back down, Jaina sat with her father on her little couch sipping tea while her mother settled herself in her overstuffed armchair. She smiled faintly, “I really did miss you two. Who did you leave in charge? Tandred?”

Katherine waved the question away, “enough talk about business, Jaina,” she leaned closer, her eyes crinkling with mischief, “I would much rather hear more about what you dear friend was texting to me while you were on your way here.”

Jaina flushed, “what exactly did Vereesa tell you?”

“You tell me,” Katherine said, “what's this I hear about a girlfriend?”


	15. Chapter 15

Jaina closed her front door heavily and leaned back against it. She had just returned from her final meeting with her school. Her entire future rode on that one meeting and she had hardly slept the night before. Sylvanas had tried to calm her down but it had only served to drive the ache further into Jaina's heart. Not only had she been worried about her own future, but she had also been increasingly worried about the future of the town. Every day she spent at home was another day closer to Azshara’s victory. Jaina hated how helpless she felt as everything had been pulled out of her control.

But her own future, at the very least, was no longer in question.

Katherine glanced up from the game she and Rhonin had been playing. “Jaina? You’re back sooner than we expected you.” She frowned when she saw how downcast her daughter looked, “oh. Oh, Sweetheart.” She waved to Rhonin, “go and get the other two and the reserve cake.” After he had hurried off to do as he was told, Katherine moved and pulled Jaina into her arms, “it’ll be alright Jaina. I am still so proud of you and you can always try again next year and--,” she trailed off when Jainas shoulders began to shake not with sobs but with laughter. “What is it? What's so amusing?”

“I passed,” Jaina said as she tried to catch her breath.

“You what?”

“I passed!” 

Katherine shook her daughter fiercely by her shoulders, “you horrible girl! Trying to fool your own mother!” but she was laughing as well.

“Don't you worry, Starshine,” Daelin said as he carried a cake up from the basement, “we still think--,”

“Daelin! Your daughter is wretched!” Katherine laughed, pulling Jaina away from the door and over to the group.

“You passed didn't you,” Vereesa deadpanned, smacking Rhonin's arm, “I told you that we didn't need a ‘you did your best cake’!” Smiling widely, Vereesa pulled Jaina into a tight hug, “congratulations, Jaina! Or am I going to have to start calling you ‘Doctor Proudmoore?” she teased.

“Please don't,” Jaina pleaded flushing with embarrassment. “Do you think Sylvanas will be proud of me?” she asked. Jaina frowned in confusion when Vereesa’s face fell, “what's wrong?”

“Sylvanas called me while you were out,” Vereesa said, “the deal went through.”

“What?” Jaina breathed, “but… I thought they were fundraising?”

“They couldn't get enough money,” Rhonin supplied, “from what she said, Azshara is already publicizing the plan, like she knew they wouldn't be able to get the money.”

“I’m so sorry, Sweetheart,” Katherine said, reaching out, only for Jaina to quickly move away.

“No,” Jaina shook her head sitting down heavily on the couch where she had left her laptop, “I won't let her win. Not like this.”

“Jaina,” Daelin tried, “I know you want to try to do what you feel is right but, taking her on, on your own?”

She closed her eyes tightly, rubbing at her temples, “no, I have nothing but time on my hands now and now it's limited.” Her eyes shot open and she snapped her fingers, “you said that she was already publicizing her plan, right? So that means there must be some kind of mock-up, or a map, yeah?”

“I mean,” Rhonin blinked, “probably?” He watched as she fired up her laptop, “what are you doing?”

“Going to their website,” Jaina said simply, “Nazjatar tends to publish their building announcements there.” A triumphant grin slowly spread across her face, “that could work. Mom, can you run down to my room and grab my tablet?”

When Katherine returned, she grabbed Jaina's knee to stop her from shaking it, “what are you thinking?”

“A workaround,” Jaina answered cryptically. Pulling open her thesis notes, Jaina flicked through until she came to a picture of one of the wrecks she had visited and a small map. “There. If we work fast enough this is how we stop her.”

Looking over her shoulder, Daelin said, “a shipwreck?”

“Yes and no. A man-made reef that is just in the path of her deep water dock,” Jaina corrected, “one that is home to a lot of endangered fish. If the reef were protected,” she trailed off with a shrug.

“Then construction wouldn't be able to go forward,” Vereesa finished, “that is devious.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Jaina said, “but I’m short on time and I have a lot of emails to write.”

“You just tell us what to do,” Rhonin said.

____________________________________________________________________________

Jaina checked her bag as she got off the plane, triple checking that all of her paperwork was still exactly where she had left it. Satisfied that they were, Jaina began the process of finding a ride back to the island. The cab she hailed was only willing to take her as far as the ferry and after that, she would be on her own. That worked just fine for Jaina as she already had an idea of who she could hire to take her the rest of the way.

As the ferry made its steady way across to the island, Jaina sent off a quick text to Sammy, asking him if he was home, and if he would mind driving out to the ferry dock. Confused as he clearly was, Sammy agreed and Jaina stood in the parking lot waiting for him. She wasn't waiting for long before Sammy's jeep came rolling into view. She waved at him as he stuck his head out the window in shock and confusion. “Her, Sammy,” Jaina said as she jogged over to him.

“Not that I ain't happy to see you or anything,” Sammy said, giving her an awkward one-armed hug through the window, “but what the hell are you doing back so soon?”

“Well I did say I would be back, didn't I?” She asked, tossing her bag into the back before climbing into the passenger seat. “But, I came back to kick Azshara out.”

Sammy frowned as he set out down the road, “you’re a few days too late, Jaina,” he said, “sale’s been finalized and she's looking to break ground within the week.”

“Then we better hurry then, shouldn't we?” Jaina said.

The road out to the town was smoother than she remembered it being and Jaina looked to Sammy in silent question.

“Hard to get heavy machinery down a road riddled with massive potholes,” Sammy said.

Jaina snorted, “one little good thing came of this, I guess.”

“You're right on that,” Sammy replied. He looked over to her, “what are you really doing back, Jaina?”

“I told you, I’m kicking her out,” Jaina’s voice was firm, “I already have, actually.” She smiled at her friend, “you’ll see what I mean when we get there.”

They had to leave the jeep at the edge of town, the road was far too congested for them to continue. Jaina hopped out with her bag and took off running, leaving Sammy to play catchup. The scene at the beach was just shy of chaos. Much of the town had shown up in a last-ditch attempt to stop the construction. Jaina could just make out Sylvanas and Erik through the workers and they could clearly hear Nola yelling at them.

“What you are constructing is an environmental disaster just waiting to happen!” Nola snapped, jabbing her finger up into the chest of one of the poor tauren workers that had been brought in, “shame!”

The tauren lifted his hands to try and pacify the tiny woman, “listen, lady, I’m just doing my job.”

“Doctor Sage,” came Azshara's smooth voice, “please, attacking the help isn't going to solve any of your problems.” She cast her golden gaze over the crowd in disapproval, “I gave you all a more than generous amount of time to outbid me and you failed. It is time to give up and allow progress to take its course. If you are lucky, and apologize profusely, I may give a select few of you the honour of working at and for the new dock.”

“A most generous offer,” piped up Tulmax.

Even from her spot outside of the crowd, Jaina could yell that violence was just a moment away. Ignoring Sammy as he yelled for her to wait, she began to push her way through the Nazjatar workers. “Excuse me,” she repeated louder and louder until she emerged between the two groups. She flashed a guilty smile to Sylvanas before turning to Azshara while she dug through her bag, “lovely day, isn't it, Azshara?”

“Jaina,” she drawled, her brows pinching in annoyance, “I’d have thought you would be too busy dealing with your families failing business to come sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Or,” Azshara’s ears tilted up, “have you finally seen reason?”

“Business is actually doing better. Turns out that my brother can be quite the leader when he puts his mind to it. Your interference has really lit a fire under everyone's asses,” Jaina said, finally pulling out a stack of paperwork, passing them off to Azshara. “No, I’m actually here to congratulate you on your acquisition.” 

“What are you doing?” Sylvanas hissed as she moved to stand next to Jaina, “first you ghost me the better part of a week, and now this?”

“I’m sorry,” Jaina said, “I was busy getting this finalized.”

“And what exactly,” Azshara interrupted, “is this?”

Jaina smiled innocently, “a thank you letter as well as all of the information you need to know about the underwater preserve you have just purchased.”

Azshara’s ears drooped as she flicked through the pages. She grit her teeth as she came to a page with a small map and a list of protected fish, “I what?”

“Oh, don't be so modest,” Jaina said, “surely you knew that the waters you purchased building rights in contained a protected man-made reef?” Jaina tapped her chin in thought, “no, no I suppose you wouldn't as it was only just recently declared. Congratulations.” Jaina grinned widely, “unfortunately, this does mean that nothing can be built that could run the risk of interfering with this delicate new ecosystem. Which would mean that the dock you had been planning on building is dead in the water, as it were. How selfless of you, Azshara. How charitable.”

If Jaina looked close enough she was sure that she would have seen a vein pop in her temple. As quickly as Azshara’s temper flared she pulled in back under control. She ran a hand through her hair and allowed herself a small chuckle, “well played, Jaina, well played indeed. Quite underhanded of you. I must say, I’m impressed, you would have done well in the business world.”

“Thank you,” Jaina said evenly, “I think I’ll stick around and keep an eye on the reef instead.”

With a derisive snort, Azshara turned and began walking back to her car, the workers parting before her, “Tulmax, we’re done here. I know when I’ve been bested.”

“My lady?” Tulmax had to jog to catch up so that he could open the door for her.

“I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Jaina,” Azshara called back to her.

“I wouldn't expect anything else,” Jaina replied. A cheer went up and Jaina flinched when Sylvanas grabbed her arm, pulling her close into a searing kiss.

“I thought I told you to focus on your education?” Sylvanas said against her lips.

“You did, and I did,” Jaina said, looping her arms around her waist, “and since I can call myself ‘Doctor Proudmoore’ now, I thought I would look to my future.”

“You're future of cockblocking businesswomen?” Sylvanas teased, earning herself a pinch to her side.

“Yes,” Jaina laughed, kissing Sylvanas again, “and continuing my research on a quiet little island while getting to go home to the woman I love every day.”

Sylvanas’ ears perked up as she grabbed Jaina by the shoulder to push her back a step so that she could look into her eyes, “You’re staying? Really?”

“Yes, really,” Jaina laughed softly, “I’m staying. I wouldn’t dream of leaving again.”

Sylvanas pulled her into a tight hug, nuzzling her face into the crook of Jaina's neck, “I love you Jaina.”

Jaina smiled, pressing a kiss to Sylvanas’ temple, “I love you too.” She took a step back, still smiling, “I need to go and make sure Nola still has a job for me.”

“Later,” Sylvanas protested, “let me enjoy having you back before she steals you away.”

“Alright,” Jaina said, “I think I can spare you some time from my busy schedule.”

“Damn straight you can,” Sylvanas said, grabbing Jaina's hand to pull her away before Nola could steal her away and pulling her off towards where her motorcycle was waiting to take her home.


	16. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back and changed a few things, nothing major.

Shells clicked together in Jaina's shoulder bag as she adjusted it. It’s weight dug into her shoulder but she ignored the discomfort as she walked to the end of the dock. Her dock. It was something that she was still getting used to, even four months on. She had only worked for Nola for a year when the older doctor had stepped down, leaving her lab to Jaina, along with a boatload of work to keep her busy. 

It was all Jaina could do to find time for her own little pet projects, like this one. Checking the clarity of the water one last time, Jaina dove in. She swam out to a small cluster of rocks she had been monitoring for the last few days and dove down. She looked around, turning over rocks as she went. 

She had to resurface twice before she found what she was looking for. Between two large rocks, was a little octopus, trying to hide itself inside of a clear plastic cup. It was cute, Jaina thought, despite the fact that it was living inside of a piece of garbage. Carefully, Jaina prodded the mollusk out of its hiding spot into the open. She made sure to keep her movements slow so that she wouldn’t startle the poor thing. 

It tried to hide itself in its cup and if Jaina had been on land she would have let out a gasp at just how adorable it was. As it was, she settled for pulling her camera out of her bag and start filming as she set it down in the sand. Jaina pulled the small collection of shells from her bag and placed them out in front of herself to examine. 

Jaina arranged the shells around the octopus and waited. It poked out of its little cup and looked at each shell in turn. It touched them and moved them, testing each for safety. At length, the octopus crawled out of the cup and settled into a cone-shaped shell. It sat there a moment before brushing one of its tentacles over Jaina's fingers before gripping the shell and propelling itself away. 

She stayed underwater for as long as she could, until her lungs began to burn and she was forced back to the surface by the need to breathe. Jaina drew in great lungfuls of air as she allowed herself to float aimlessly on her back. It was a beautiful day and with the octopus free of its trash haven, her schedule was free. No research to catch up on, no papers calling to her. Nothing between her and the sea, the sun warming her skin. 

No, nothing at all except—

“Doctor Proudmoore!” Ardan called to her from the dock, Nola waving excitedly at his side. 

“Your wife just arrived to see you,” Nola chuckled at how red Jaina became as Ardan helped her out of the water. 

“She isn’t my wife, Nola,” Jaina mumbled as a towel was handed to her. 

“And what a terrible shame that is,” Nola said, “honestly I do not know what you are waiting for dear, she really is quite the catch. Why if I were a few decades younger I would have been courting her myself.”

“Doctor Sage, please,” Ardan pleaded, his face mirroring Jainas in embarrassed horror, “you are tormenting the good doctor.”

Nola frowned, “ah, so I am. My apologies dear. You’ll have to forgive me for looking for a spot of entertainment. It seems retirement doesn't suit me. Idle hands and all that.”

“You’re always welcome to take the lab back,” Jaina offered as the trio made their way back to said lab, “the team would probably be overjoyed.”

Nola waves the offer away, “no, my time is over. Best leave the future to the young ones. I’ll just have to make do with pestering you at every opportunity, won’t I?”

Jaina had to laugh at that, “I suppose you will.” She gave the older woman a hug before hurrying off to the small parking lot, pulling her shirt on as she went. Sylvanas was sat on her motorcycle, her arms crossed, and a deep scowl on her face. When she saw Jaina approaching her ears perked up for just a moment before she quickly flicked them back. Jaina pulled Sylvanas into a hug but stepped back when it was returned, “Sylvanas? What’s wrong?”

“What did you forget today, Jaina?” Sylvanas asked, her voice low. 

“What did I forget?” Jainas brow furrowed in confusion, “my schedule was clear, there was nothing for me to forget.”

“There was a reason your schedule was clear for a reason,” Sylvanas said, “a reason that I had to do on my own.” She poked Jainas shoulder enough to rock her back a step, “I had to go to the docks on my own to pick up  _ your _ parents! While you were… were…” she plucked a stray bit of kelp from Jaina's hair, “what were you doing?”

“I was rehoming a baby octopus,” Jaina said before looking up in thought. “Oh fuck! That’s right my parents are coming! You’re going to meet my parents!”

Sylvanas laughed, “I’ve technically already met them. But I promise I left them at the house before they could ask too many questions about my intentions for their daughter. Come on.” She handed Jaina her helmet and as soon as she was settled they were off. 

The house was quiet as they rolled to a stop next to Jaina's car. But it didn’t stay that way for long as no sooner had the engine been shut off did Katherine come rushing out from inside their house. “Jaina!” Katherine all but pulled her daughter off of the bike in her hurry to wrap her in a tight hug. “Oh my dear girl,” she peppered her face and hair with kisses until Jaina managed to squirm away.”

“Mom,” Jaina groaned in embarrassment, “could you not?”

“I most certainly will,” Katherine huffed, “it was one thing for you to move down to California, it is quite another thing for you to put down roots in the Caribbean. And then you can't even be bothered to meet your parents at the airport.” She narrowed her eyes and smirked, “if I didn't know any better I would think you were trying to run away from us.”

“Katherine, leave the poor girl alone,” Daelin said, coming to his daughter's rescue. He pulled her close before turning his attention to Sylvanas, “besides, why pick on her when we have a new daughter to pick on.”

“New,” Sylvanas’ ears flicked back, the tips going pink, “daughter?”

“Not quite,” Katherine said, rounding on Sylvanas, “when exactly do you plan on making an honest woman of my daughter, hmm?”

“Mom!”

“I…” Sylvanas glanced at Jaina for aid.

Jaina clapped her hands together, “let's head inside for supper!” she said quickly, “I’ve been out on the water all day and I am starving.”

“So you’re starving my girl now?” Daelin asked, flinching back with a hearty laugh when Jaina smacked his arm. “Aright, alright I give. Supper sounds wonderful, Starlight.”

Supper proved to be an amazing distraction for her parents. Between the frying of the chicken and the steaming of the vegetables, neither of them had much time to pester either of them much. Even throughout supper, they were a little busy talking up the food to really dig into the couple.

Katherine settled herself on the couch with Daelin, leaning into his side. She smiled over at her daughter and Sylvanas when they sat down together in a chair that was just big enough for the both of them to sit comfortably. “Dinner was amazing dear,” Katherine complemented earnestly, “since when are you such a good cook?”

“Well, I have been living away from home for quite a while,” Jaina said with a shrug, “and having quick access to so much fresh food has really encouraged me to learn.”

“And yet you never cook for us when you come home,” Daelin bemoaned, “you wound me, Starlight.”

“Why should I have to cook on my visits home?” Jaina asked with a quirk of her brow, “and here you were lecturing me about hospitality.”

“Fair enough,” Katherine relented with a snort. “Speaking of hospitality,” she looked pointedly at Sylvanas, smiling when the elf sat a little straighter.

“Might I offer you a drink, Ma’am?” Sylvanas offered, already getting up.

“Well, since you offered,” Katherine drawled, “a spot of whisky would be lovely. And please, Katherine will do just fine.”

Sylvanas went to the kitchen and sorted through their small liquor cupboard, “Jaina, do we still have the--,”

“The bottle Alleria sent us a few months back?” Jaina replied, “it should be just behind the mezcal.”

With the clink of a few bottles, Sylvanas found her prize. Bottle in hand, Sylvanas grabbed four glasses and returned to the living room. She poured them each a glass, handing them out. “My sister sent us a few bottles of this when she took a job over in Ireland. Oak aged.”

After a sip, Daelin let out an appreciative hum, “your sister has good taste.”

“Indeed,” Katherine agreed.

“I’ll tell her to send a few bottles your way before she leaves,” Sylvanas promised.

“As good a bribe as any,” Katherine chuckled. She leaned back and smiled at the two over her glass. “This is a lovely little home you two have made for yourselves. I am so happy for you, Jaina, truly.”

“Thank you,” Jaina said, “how are things back home?”

“Wonderfully, actually,” Daelin said, “business has been booming since we sent Nazjatar running.”

Sylvanas nearly dropped her own glass in shock, “since you what?”

“Yes, turns out ain't used to people standing up to them,” Daelin continued, “and with them needing to convert a portion of their resources over to their new conservation efforts,” he shot Jaina a sly smile, “they haven't been able to focus as much of swooping in to crush a handful of family-run fisheries.”

“That's wonderful!” Jaina said.

“Yes, we even managed to band together and restore that old historic pier, Tandrid's been working hard to make it as popular as he can. Plenty of little businesses setting up shop on it,” Daelin said, “you’ll have to come up and see it some time. I think you would love it.”

“The mayor even agreed to its memorial naming,” Katherine added.

“Memorial? For who?” Jaina asked.

“The Derek Memorial Pier,” Daelin replied, his voice soft. He reached across the table to grip Jaina's hand when she let out a choked gasp, “Derek would have been so proud of you, Starlight. So very proud. You know that, right?” He smiled when she nodded, setting his glass down to open his arms for her, “come here.” He wrapped one arm around her and looked pointedly at Sylvanas, “you to, come on.” He held them both tight, leaning closer to his wife so that she could join them, “I have you to thank just as much as my daughter.”

“You really don't have to thank me,” Sylvanas protested.

“Maybe,” Daelin agreed, “but I’m gunna do it anyways. You helped my girl so much and when you finally get around to making a, what was it you said, Katherine?”

“Making an honest woman of her,” Katherine supplied.

“Yes,” Daelin chuckled at how red both of the girls flushed, “make an honest woman of her, you will be welcomed among the Proudmoores with open arms.”

“Thank you, sir,” Sylvanas said with an earnest smile, “and Jaina is more than welcome in my family.”

When they all finally separated, Jaina simply sat back and watched as Sylvanas seamlessly matched her father's playful banter barb for barb-like they were old friends. It was endearing and she was even willing to look past how quick they fell into a routine of teasing her. Even then, Jaina would never get over how much she loved Sylvanas, or how grateful she was to have met her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was that. Thank you all so much for reading and huge thanks again to JE_Talveran for giving me the idea for this monster. Its been a ride and I have learned more than I ever thought I would about scuba diving.


End file.
